[arch-general] Why irrelevant updates?

[Scott Lawrence]

Hi,

pacman will request to update all installed packages. If you think you don't 
need a certain package, -Rscn it. Not upgrading a package that you 
nevertheless keep installed is probably a Bad Idea (as you realize).

That being said, there's no major disadvantage (disk space issues 
notwithstanding) to having packages installed that you never use. If those 
programs aren't ever run, then they won't slow anything down.

On Tue, 12 May 2015, Francis Gerund wrote:

> Sometimes pacman presents updates that just don't seem to apply to my
> system.
>
> Just one example: sudo pacman -Syyuv presents btrfs-progs, even though:
>
> 1)  I do not, and have not, used the Btrfs file system with my Arch setup.
>
> 2)  It is "Required by: None"
>
> 3)  It is "Optional for: None"
>
> But I hate to reject it. After all, there must be some reason it was
> presented . . .  right?
>
> So, if I just say "yes" to all upgrades, won't my system over time get
> weighed down by excess stuff, until it grinds to a halt?
>
> Or, if I just make my best guess at what is really need and reject the
> rest, won't I have a Frankenstein system that will eventually break?
>
> And why, why, why doesn't it just present upgrades appropriate for my
> system?
>