From Bugzilla Helper: User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 Galeon/1.2.6 (X11; Linux i686; U;) Gecko/20020830 Description of problem: observe: 9:54pm {44} pcp02404936pcs:~/>$ rpm -q --whatrequires expat expat-devel-1.95.4-1 9:55pm {45} pcp02404936pcs:~/>$ rpm -q --whatrequires expat-devel no package requires expat-devel 9:55pm {46} pcp02404936pcs:~/>$ rpm -e expat expat-devel error: Failed dependencies: libexpat.so.0 is needed by (installed) python-2.2.1-17 libexpat.so.0 is needed by (installed) fontconfig-2.0-3 libexpat.so.0 is needed by (installed) httpd-2.0.40-11 libexpat.so.0 is needed by (installed) php-4.2.2-8.0.7 it's a very misleading identification, as *dependencies* are not *requires* and vice versa. and, unless I'm just really blind, there's no --whatdepends option to pass to rpm -q for me to find out, without TRYING to remove a package, what a package's dependencies are. (walk the tree in the opposite direction) Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): rpm-4.1-1.06 How reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. go to upgrade expat to a version that is acceptable to XML::Twig 2. check expat to see if anything depends on it (requires it?) 3. nothing SEEMS to because there is no complementary --whatdepends to match --whatrequires but in the opposite direction, so you go to remove expat so you can manually install the updated version, and boom! Lo and behold, things depend on it, and you don't know what may break if you remove/upgrade the new expat. Actual Results: confusion Expected Results: clarity, useful options, choice Additional info: I would DESPERATELY like to see this option for the next release of RH 8 as it would make some of the rpm confusion a lot simpler to wade through. The information is obviously IN there, but there's no obvious sense-making way to get at it without contortions.
You wanted to type rpm -q --whatrequires libexpat.so.0 not rpm -q --whatrequires expat All package Provides: are displayed with rpm -q --provides pkg There is also rpm -q --whatprovides libexpat.so.0 and even (if the rpmdb-redhat package is installed) rpm -q --redhatprovides libexpat.so.0 I'm not at all sure what you distinction you make regarding "dependencies" and "requires". Perhaps you are used to dpkg, which has only package dependencies, but rpm != dpkg.
argh, this is *exactly* what I mean about it being confusing 4:34pm {5} pcp02404936pcs:/root># rpm -q --whatrequires libexpat.so.0 python-2.2.1-17 fontconfig-2.0-3 httpd-2.0.40-11 expat-1.95.4-1 php-4.2.2-8.0.7 4:34pm {6} pcp02404936pcs:/root># rpm -q --whatrequires expat expat-devel-1.95.4-1 as you can see, the same command is being used to walk the tree in opposite directions, and the usage of it (having to know which internal component is being "required" oops I mean "depended" on) is not obvious. The package system KNOWS what other packages depend on <packagename> being installed, and it makes perfect sense to add a --whatdepends <packagename>. i.e. because the usage of the command is *patently obvious* to even the casual observer. I can't tell you how many times I've gone into the rpm system and wanted to have such a thing.. this is just the first time I've gone and posted an RFE for it, and that only because it's come to my attention as a desirable enhancement often enough. it's NOT a bug, it's an RFE :)
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 142651 ***
Changed to 'CLOSED' state since 'RESOLVED' has been deprecated.