Clean out your world file

[slick]

How is the current way to clean up the world file? Are there any new scripts or like that?

[FuzzyRay]

How is the current way to clean up the world file? Are there any new scripts or like that?

I never removed udept due to popular demand and it is still in the tree (you need to unmask it though). So you can still use dep -w -p. However, since it is unmaintained you will see errors printed to the screen, but on my systems the actual output still seems to be accurate.

[Ray ishido]

Hi,
if dep no longer works, does emerge --depclean do the trick?

[asturm]

--depclean only cares about dependencies, based on world entries, not cleaning the world file.

[Makitk]

I never removed udept due to popular demand and it is still in the tree (you need to unmask it though). So you can still use dep -w -p. However, since it is unmaintained you will see errors printed to the screen, but on my systems the actual output still seems to be accurate.

Would it be ok for a total newbie to ebuilds to attempt to bump udept to a new version and subsequently maintain the ebuild? If so, any location I could retrieve the source from other than portage? The websites as listed in the first post of this thread don't work anymore.

If this isn't allowed, please do let me know, but it seems like a handy program to keep around, so an update to it would be necessary to keep it in the list for the future.
I know I can use it...

[loftwyr]

If you want to maintain it, more power to you. You can get the source from the gentoo mirrors (just emerge -F udept) and copy it somewhere for the updating.

[Makitk]

If you want to maintain it, more power to you. You can get the source from the gentoo mirrors (just emerge -F udept) and copy it somewhere for the updating.

Considering the state of the most recent source, I'm looking at a total rework with a partner.
Further information with regards to that particular project will be released in due time. When related to udept, I'll link to it in this thread.

Might take a while, however.

[Dont Panic]

I know udept did many more things, but I wrote a quick script to replicate the functionality of checking your world file for entries that could be cleaned.

I've called this script chk-world-deps.sh

Code: Select all

#!/bin/sh

for PKG in `cat /var/lib/portage/world`; do
        REVDEP_COUNT=`qdepends -C -Q ${PKG} | wc -l`
        if [ ! "${REVDEP_COUNT}" = "0" ]; then
                echo "*** ${PKG} is in world file, but has reverse deps"
                qdepends -C -Q ${PKG}
                echo ""
        fi
done

It can be run as a normal user, and simply checks every entry in the world file for reverse dependencies ('wc -l' counts the number of lines returned by the qdepends run). In theory, a package doesn't have to be in the world file if it has other packages that depend on it.

This script doesn't write back to the world file. But it could be modified to do so by adding a 'emerge --deselect ${PKG}' line, and then running as root.

[Henry78]

I've called this script chk-world-deps.sh

Thanks, "Don't Panic", I tried to enhance it and speed it up, also added an option to let the script do the actual removal, caution!

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash 
#
# About: Clean up your worldfile by removing entries which are dependencies of
#        other packages, speak: Which have reverse dependencies.
#
# Usage: You may provide the '-v' switch to get more output.

VERBOSE=false
SUGGESTED_PKGS=""	# suggested for removal
WORLDFILE=/var/lib/portage/world

# Check if verbose flag was specified
[[ $1 = "-v" ]] && VERBOSE=true

# Find removeable packages
for PKG in `cat $WORLDFILE`; do 
	$VERBOSE && echo "${PKG}'s revdese dependencies:"
	REVDEPS=`qdepends -C -Q $PKG`

    if [[ -n $REVDEPS ]]; then
		for DEP in $REVDEPS; do
			$VERBOSE && echo -e "\t*** $DEP"
		done
		SUGGESTED_PKGS="$SUGGESTED_PKGS $PKG"
	else
		true	# need this to overcome an empty else if VERBOSE isn't set
		$VERBOSE && echo -e "\t--- No dependencies found"
	fi
done

# Summary, what may be removed?
if [[ -z $SUGGESTED_PKGS ]]; then
	echo "Couldn't find any reverse dependencies. Your world file is minimal!"
	exit
else
	echo -e "\n***********************************\n"
	echo "Suggested for removal:"
	for SUGGEST in $SUGGESTED_PKGS; do
		echo $SUGGEST
	done
fi

# Actually remove world file entries
echo -e "\n***********************************\n"
echo    "WARNING: Be shure to have a *recent* copy of your worldfile!"
echo -n "Do you want to remove all suggest now? (y/n) "
read -n1 ANSWER

if [[ $ANSWER = "y" ]] || [[ $ANSWER = "Y" ]]; then
	# Slash escaping is - as always - rather obscure. 
	# Here we find the slash and replace it by backslash and slash: / -> \/
	SUGGESTED_PKGS=`echo $SUGGESTED_PKGS | sed 's/\//\\\\\//g'`
	for SUGGESTED in $SUGGESTED_PKGS; do
		sed -i "/$SUGGESTED/d" $WORLDFILE
	done
fi

[orionbelt]

The script above uses "qdepends -Q" to determine dependencies. However, "equery depends" is also supposed to do that, and it looks like it is more thorough in its dependency searches, as mentioned in this thread:

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-p-63 ... ml#6317971

Is there any reason why "qdepends -Q" should be preferred over "equery depends" ?

[Dont Panic]

The reason I used 'qdepends -Q' as opposed to 'equery depends' is because equery tends to return false positives when employeed in the context of this script.

The 'equery' command does not take into account your actual USE flag settings. The 'qdepends' command attempts to do so.

The 'qdepends' command is not perfect, but is the closest thing I could find.

I've provided more details in another thread, so in the interest of avoiding cross-posting, I supply the link here: Difference between "qdepends -Q" and "equery depends" ?

[atommixz]

I've called this script chk-world-deps.sh

Thanks, "Don't Panic", I tried to enhance it and speed it up, also added an option to let the script do the actual removal, caution!

More useful for me. If "-v" then "No dependencies found" - simply no output. Thanks all.

$ cat ./script/chk-world-deps.sh

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash 
# About: Clean up your worldfile by removing entries which are dependencies of 
#        other packages, speak: Which have reverse dependencies. 
# 
# Usage: You may provide the '-v' switch to get more output. 

WORLDFILE=/var/lib/portage/world 
VERBOSE=false
SUGGESTED_PKGS=""   # suggested for removal 

# Check if verbose flag was specified 
[[ $1 = "-v" ]] && VERBOSE=true

# Find removeable packages 
for PKG in `cat $WORLDFILE`; do 
   REVDEPS=`qdepends -C -Q $PKG` 

   if [[ -n $REVDEPS ]]; then 
      $VERBOSE && echo "${PKG}:"
      for DEP in $REVDEPS; do 
         $VERBOSE && echo -e "\t $DEP" 
      done 
      SUGGESTED_PKGS="$SUGGESTED_PKGS $PKG" 
   fi 
done 

# Summary, what may be removed? 
if [[ -z $SUGGESTED_PKGS ]]; then 
   echo "Couldn't find any reverse dependencies. Your world file is minimal!" 
   exit 
else 
   $VERBOSE && echo
   echo -e "Suggested for removal:"
   for SUGGEST in $SUGGESTED_PKGS; do 
      echo -e "\t $SUGGEST"
   done 
fi 

# Actually remove world file entries 
echo
echo    "WARNING: Be shure to have a *recent* copy of your worldfile!" 
echo -n "Do you want to remove all suggest now? (y/n) " 
read -n1 ANSWER 

if [[ $ANSWER = "y" ]] || [[ $ANSWER = "Y" ]]; then 
   # Slash escaping is - as always - rather obscure. 
   # Here we find the slash and replace it by backslash and slash: / -> \/ 
   SUGGESTED_PKGS=`echo $SUGGESTED_PKGS | sed 's/\//\\\\\//g'` 
   for SUGGESTED in $SUGGESTED_PKGS; do 
      sed -i "/$SUGGESTED/d" $WORLDFILE 
   done 
fi 

[s0be]

To clean up your slash replacement (a little, anyways):

Code: Select all

bigiron hosts $ echo "//" | sed 's:/:\\/:g'
\/\/

[green2000]

from http://help.lockergnome.com/linux/gento ... 62179.html

There is also, let me name it "reverse approach".

You first make a back up and empty your world file:
1) gentoo ~ #cp /var/lib/portage/world ~/ && >/var/lib/portage/world
and then build it again:
2) gentoo ~ #regenworld

"regenworld" will put some packages which it thinks belong to the world
list.
Now check what portage finds to be useless when the world set is almost
empty:
3) gentoo ~ #emerge --depclean --pretend

From the list shown by the above command you chose the program packages
you *want* to have installed and put them in the world file. One "atom"
("category-name/package-name", without version numbers) per line.
Now do as "emerge --depclean" recommends:

4) gentoo ~ #emerge --update --newuse --deep world

Repeat the steps from (2) to (4) until (3) shows only packages that are
not familiar to you and (4) doesn't want to install anything.

Next. Check if there are no system packages in the list (3) shows:
5) gentoo ~ #emerge -pve system

It should not happen that (3) wants to remove system packages but its
better to be sure.

Now "cross your fingers" and execute emerge --deplcean for real (without
--pretend).
6) emerge --deplcean
Immediately after (6) finishes you *must* do:
7) emerge -DuN world
revdep-rebuild

When ( is successfully finished you should have a "clean" world set
within a healthy system.
If something goes wrong you can bring back your working "world" and
recheck all packages:

#cp ~/world /var/lib/portage/world
#emerge -DuN world
#revdep-rebuild

One more thing. You remember that saying "If it works don't fix it",
don't you?
I mean your system should work properly even with "polluted" world set,
no matter there are additional packages in it.