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Is a dummy package just an example? This package has no dependents, can it be removed?

[root@server ~]# yum info vzdummy-init-fc13-1.0-1.noarch
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: centos.serverspace.co.uk
 * epel: epel.mirrors.ovh.net
 * extras: centos.serverspace.co.uk
 * updates: centos.serverspace.co.uk
Installed Packages
Name        : vzdummy-init-fc13
Arch        : noarch
Version     : 1.0
Release     : 1
Size        : 0.0
Repo        : installed
Summary     : Dummy package to fix initscripts configs
License     : GPL
Description : Dummy package to fix initscripts configs

there is also this:

vzdummy-glibc-2.12-1.7.el6.noarch   //Package contain locale-archive that regenerated by glibc in post-install

that has zero dependent packages

1
  • Maybe this should be moved to unix.SE?
    – dotancohen
    Jul 3, 2014 at 21:54

2 Answers 2

4

Dummy packages have many purposes.

Sometimes they are needed for an upgrade between release or a major change of packaging for a particular application

Sometimes they depend on other packages get a bunch of things included.

Sometimes you use a dummy package because you don't want the real package that would be installed instead you so create a dummy to satisfy a reverse dependency. Something else is depending on the dummy.

I am not familiar with that specific package, but assuming you have good backups and recovery procedures in place try removing it. See if wants to remove anything else that you were not expecting.

2

Often rpm can be used to get more info about an installed package then yum provides.

query-options
    [--changelog] [-c,--configfiles] [-d,--docfiles] [--dump]
    [--filesbypkg] [-i,--info] [--last] [-l,--list]
    [--provides] [--qf,--queryformat QUERYFMT]
    [-R,--requires] [--scripts] [-s,--state]
    [--triggers,--triggerscripts]  

For example the -q -i option gives the same information as the yum info output, but rpm -q --list <pkg_name> shows all files a package deploys.

In your specific example of a dummy package that tries to fix something I would expect that rpm -q --scripts <pkg_name> to show any scripts that get executed by installing (or removing) the package might provide as least as much insight into its purpose as the files that get deployed.

For dummy packages that are for example used as a meta package to get a set of related packages deployed the rpm -q --requires <pkg_name> might be helpful.

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