On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:27:48 -0700, Darren New wrote:

>>>>> Or "I can't let you install telnet[1] until you have some sort of
>>>>> TCP/IP stack installed."
>>>>
>>>> Isn't this what RPM does?
>>>
>>> No.
>> 
>> Really? I thought that was the entire *point* of package managers.
> 
> To some extent. Package managers tell you which dynamic libraries are
> needed for which programs. They don't enforce anything, and you cannot
> (for example) look at an RPM without installing it and know if it'll
> work right once you're done installing it.

Well, RPMs aren't package *managers*, they're packages.  RPM is a package 
manager, and it does a reasonably good job of enforcing dependencies - 
you can override with --nodeps, but IME it does a good job for those who 
need them enforced and lets those who know better if a dependency is 
reasonable or not override.

Jim

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