Software Repos

[measekite]

When using Synaptic and after doing a search for a particular class of software (ie graphics or office or ide etc) you get a real long list of various programs with a multitude of versions and a multitude of supporting programs as well as a host of other software packages that may or may not be relevant.

Even with the explanations panel near the bottom it is very difficult to decide on which version or release of the software or its supporting packages. So you wind up downloading much more than you need or want and your hard disk becomes cluttered. And then you do not know what to uninstall.

How can this situation be improved upon?

[bazzer]

It's true, your disc will be a little more used if you've installed something and then not used it, but what I tend to do is try it, and if it doesn't work out, uninstall it. It's not like a MS environment where you've added a couple of hundred lines to a registry file, so when you uninstall, it's, well, un- installed!;)

[measekite]

It's true, your disc will be a little more used if you've installed something and then not used it, but what I tend to do is try it, and if it doesn't work out, uninstall it. It's not like a MS environment where you've added a couple of hundred lines to a registry file, so when you uninstall, it's, well, un- installed!;)

I hear what you are saying but that does not resolve the issue if you want to keep the software but you still downloaded many unnecessary packages thinking you need them because of faulty and confusing explanations when in fact you did not.

[bazzer]

Well, any software you install from Synaptic, or apt-get, gets checked for dependencies. They are additional libraries or applications required to make your chosen software work. So, if you uninstall something that has these dependencies, all the associated stuff gets uninstalled too, so long as it's really not required (ie by something else).
It would seem to me you're not all that happy with the descriptions of the applications. And that's really not easy to change. You're only going to know if something 'hits the spot' if you try it. If it works for you, carry on with it, if not, just uninstall it dude!