KDE Packages
| Summary |
|---|
| An explanation of KDE package groups and meta-packages. |
| Related articles |
| KDE |
Since KDE SC 4.3, separate (split) packages for each application are provided. This article describes the concepts of groups and meta-packages.
Contents
1 Terminology
- module
- The KDE software compilation source code is organized into several categories called modules. Examples include kdebase, kdeutils etc. The KDE project releases one source archive per module. See the Coordinator List for more details.
- package group
- A package group is simply a group of packages. Pacman is able to select multiple packages by their group(s) during installation or removal.
- meta-package
- A meta-package is an empty package which just connects several packages by using dependencies.
2 Using Package groups
There are groups for each KDE module, such as kdebase, kdeutils etc. Installing a package group will install all packages that belong to that module at the time of the installation. For instance, to install all packages that are part of a module such as kdebase or kdeutils in the current release, use:
# pacman -S kdebase kdeutils ...
In addition to this, there is a kde group which includes all these groups. Installing the kde package group will effectively install the current KDE software compilation release in its entirety:
# pacman -S kde
2.1 Why use groups?
2.1.1 Advantages
- Using groups makes it easier to install or remove a set of packages. This allows you to use a single command (like above) to install or remove all packages in a module.
- There is no hard dependency between a group and its packages. This means that there is no reason to have all member packages in a group installed. You may freely remove member packages that belong to a group without touching other member packages of the same group.
2.1.2 Disadvantages
- Pacman will not install any new packages that may be added to a group at a later date. For instance, if the next release of the KDE software compilation includes new applications in one of more modules, these new applications will not be automatically installed when you upgrade your system. You will have to manually install these new packages. To overcome this, use meta-packages (see next section).
2.2 Who is it for?
Install package groups if you only want some modules of the current KDE software compilation release. Groups are also useful for those users who only want to retain some packages from a group, while opting to remove the others.
3 Using Meta-Packages
Just like groups, there are meta-packages for each KDE module, such as kde-meta-kdebase, kde-meta-kdeutils etc. Installing these meta-packages will install or upgrade all packages that belong to the module. If new applications are added to the module in a future release, they will automatically be installed when you upgrade your system. To install a specific module such as kdebase or kdeutils using meta-packages, use:
# pacman -S kde-meta-kdebase kde-meta-kdeutils ...
In addition to this, there is a kde-meta group that includes all these meta-packages. Installing the kde-meta group will install the entire KDE software compilation:
# pacman -S kde-meta
3.1 Why use meta-packages?
3.1.1 Advantages
- Like package groups, meta-packages make it easy to install and maintain a set of packages. This allows you to use a single command (like above) to install all packages in a module.
- Use of meta-packages ensures that pacman will install any new member packages automatically when you upgrade your system. This emulates the behavior of the monolithic set of packages that were used before KDE SC 4.3.
3.1.2 Disadvantages
- Meta-packages have a hard dependency on all the member packages that are part of it. This means that you cannot freely remove member packages that are part of a meta-package without removing the meta-package first. For example, if you installed kde-meta-kdebase and would now like to remove a member package such as, kdebase-kwrite, you will first need to remove the meta-package before removing the member package:
# pacman -R kde-meta-kdebase # pacman -R kdebase-kwrite
Doing this will not remove other member packages in the kde-meta-kdebase meta-package, but it will also no longer automatically add new packages in that module (possibly from the next release) when you upgrade the system using pacman -Syu. You may re-install kde-meta-kdebase meta-package at any time to return to the monolithic package behavior.
If you installed the kde-meta package, you can remove all meta-packages at once by using:
# pacman -R kde-meta
This will only remove the meta-packages and not the actual member packages.
3.2 Who is it for?
Use meta-packages if you desire to install the entire KDE software compilation or one or more of its modules in its entirety. This ensures a smooth upgrade path by automatically adding new split packages from subsequent releases.
4 Listing the member packages
To get a complete list of KDE applications use
pacman -Sg kde
Get a list of all meta packages:
pacman -Sg kde-meta
Get a list of all KDE module groups:
for i in $(pacman -Sqg kde-meta); do echo ${i#kde-meta-};done
Get a list of all KDE packages and their module group:
for i in $(pacman -Sqg kde-meta); do pacman -Sg ${i#kde-meta-};done
