Arch Linux

Soultrigger

Member

From: Brazil

Registered: 2021-11-04

Posts: 111

[Solved] Meta x Group Packages - A simple doubt about arch behavior

I am new to Linux, but I just want to make sure about something. I installed plasma-meta and then I tried installing plasma. Pacman said all files were installed and up-to-date and there was nothing to do when I tried to install plasma. (The packages when I searched them had different "sizes", meta with 30 dependencies and group with 46 dependencies).

My doubts are the following: If I have a meta package and the group package had some extra packages, would it install the ones that are different or refuse installation because the installed package is a meta? I am asking because the difference in dependencies in each package, even though they are probably exactly the same, just the way they call the dependencies is different.

Also what would be recommended way to go, with meta or group package? I know the difference from the Archwiki and I decided to go with the group package to be able to remove whatever part of it I didn't want (like games for kde), but I don´t know if it is the best way to handle this. (I am also aware I can install kde applications by category meta).

(I did read and tried to search the forums before posting, so I am sorry if you already had topics about this).

Thanks for all the help.

Last edited by Soultrigger (2021-11-04 22:53:03)

mpan

Member

Registered: 2012-08-01

Posts: 1,629

Website

Re: [Solved] Meta x Group Packages - A simple doubt about arch behavior

Arch Wiki: Meta package and package group

A group is merely a list of packages. If used as a parameter to a pacman invocation, it more or less⁽¹⁾ acts as if you passed names of each of its contents separately to pacman. It does not interact with meta packages in any way different than what would happen, if you passed the list of its packages to pacman and some of them were dependencies of another package.
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⁽¹⁾ “More or less”, because pacman allows you to interactively choose, which packages to use.

Last edited by mpan (2021-11-04 20:51:49)

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Soultrigger

Member

From: Brazil

Registered: 2021-11-04

Posts: 111

Re: [Solved] Meta x Group Packages - A simple doubt about arch behavior

Thanks, it seems a simple and proper solution. I appreciate your explanation.