On Fri, 21 Feb 2020 09:58:48 +0100 Ludwig Nussel
Sorry for my stupid question, but what problem exactly do you want to solve?
The need to use --no-recommends to avoid bloat.
Recommends ARE bloat, as they are (per definition) not required to run the software. If you (or anyone else) really don't want to get recommended packages, why don't you set: installRecommends = no in /etc/zypp/zypper.conf and be happy? I do this for my servers since years and avoid all the "bloat" you mention. If I really want something that is just recommended, it's anyway just a "zypper install" away. Yes, this is sometimes extra work, but it's worth the price as you get only what you pay for... ;-) For appliance builds, it shouldn't also be that hard to have recommends off by default and "require" the really wanted (recommended) packages in your package list. But to make you idea more complex, I also have a 3rd proposal: 3) avoid to recommend doc packages - use the appropriate Group tag in RPM to get them shown in YaST. Oh, sorry: we don't have Group tags in RPM any longer (did I tell everyone often enough that I still think this was a bad idea? ;-) Therefor: packagers, who want to get their doc-packages visible, could request to get them added (as recommended?) into the documentation-pattern Pro: + packagers can decide, if their doc-package should become prominently visible (in the pattern) + as long as the package contains the name of the main package, it will be shown to end-users if they search for it + "bloat" get's reduced, as doc-packages are not selected automatically any longer. But the package could be installed later, if the users notices that he wants/needs it. Con: + users have to explicitely install the -doc subpackages. There will be no magic who installs them, unless the user selects the documentation-pattern *and* the packager added their doc-package there. + packagers have to take care that their -doc packages get recommended in the documentation pattern Alternative 1: someone writes a script that grabs for "*-doc, *-documentation, *-manual" an puts the results in there Alternative 2: someone enhances YaST to do so automatically (something similar like "Show -devel packages", but now with "Show -doc packages") ----- ...but I still think that disabling recommends for special conditions might be the best solution. I can even imagine to have: * Desktop install => set "installRecommends = yes" * Server install => set "installRecommends = no" * Container install => set "installRecommends = no" But here we are (again) in the discussion about dedicated installation workflows for specific use-cases. And installation of -doc packages is there just a very small part of the discussion. With kind regards, Lars -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-packaging+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse-packaging+owner@opensuse.org