Tim wrote:
Sure, I can imagine that if was going to install Apache, and draw pie charts, that there might be some use for them.
What's htdig got to do with pie charts? It's a search engine for HTML files. KDE uses it to search HTML files, rather than re-implementing that code on their own.
But let such applications draw them in as a dependency.
Right... that's what happened. KDE's help system includes a search function. It uses htdig. htdig was drawn in as a dependency of KDE.
-- I need a new wheel for my car. -- Sure, but it comes with a caravan... -- I don't want a caravan! -- You don't have to use it, you can just leave it parked in your garage. -- I don't have the space. -- You could get a bigger plot of land... -- I don't want to. Can I get rid of the caravan? -- Yes, but you'd also lose the new wheel.
That's a silly analogy. You're installing KDE, which requires htdig to search the KDE documentation. The space you're complaining about is trivial compared to the rest of the KDE platform. If KDE didn't pull in htdig, they'd have to re-implement the functionality, and there's no reason to believe it'd save a significant amount of space.
Car analogy: you want a car, and you're complaining because it requires brakes. It's a PITA to replace brake pads, you say, but if you want the car to stop, that's what you're gonna do.
Who came up with these dependency ideas? Goofy?
People who understood how software functions created dependency tracking. Don't loose sleep over it; it's a good thing.
