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tethys

Member

Registered: 2019-08-13

Posts: 178

[SOLVED] How do I know if/when optional dependency is needed?

I have a general question about optional dependencies. Take for example python2. Many packages use it as normal or optional dependency. Suppose I uninstall a package together with its dependency python2. How will i know when/if other packages need python2 as an optional dependency? That is, if they malfunction, how do I link this to python2?

Last edited by tethys (2019-10-30 16:44:52)

WorMzy

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Registered: 2010-06-16

Posts: 13,679

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Re: [SOLVED] How do I know if/when optional dependency is needed?

How will i know when/if other packages need python2 as an optional dependency?

$ pacman -Qi python2

Check the "Optional For" line.

That is, if they malfunction, how do I link this to python2?

The general rule of thumb is to use a search engine to check the errors you get, but in this case if something requires python2 but it's not present, you're likely to get the error "python2: command not found", or "/usr/bin/python2: bad interpreter: No such file or directory", which should be self-explanatory.

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tethys

Member

Registered: 2019-08-13

Posts: 178

Re: [SOLVED] How do I know if/when optional dependency is needed?

Thank you for your reply WorMzy. I know the command "pacman -Qi" but the question was meant at run time - which you explain in the second part.