On Mon, Aug 30, 1999 at 11:36:27PM +0200, Josip Rodin wrote: > Package: dpkg > Version: 1.4.0.34 > Severity: wishlist > > Hi, > > As the subject line says, these two options (--remove and --purge) first > make a short pause (accessing the database?), and after that their options > are parsed. I noticed that when I accidentally typed "dpkg -r", and it took > some time for dpkg to return the error. This is inconsistent with the > install option (--install), which parses the options (and reports the error > if there are not arguments) instantly. And it is annoying, to have to wait. > > Also, there should be a short alias for the purge command, and both > "-p" and "-P" are available.
I agree with the rest of this, but making a short, easy option to purge a package is bad. If you accidentally -r a package, it can be easily fixed with a reinstall and all configuration files will be kept. If you accidentally --purge, then you could have some problems. Force people to know exactly what they are doing in this extreme instance. I would say that the short pause before -r actually starts removing files is a good thing since it gives time to say "oh shit!" and hist ctrl-c, but it will soon be irrelevant as cpu's and disks get much faster. Ben
