Pkg.rm sometimes has to be run twice

[jiahao]

I can't quite pin down why this happens, but I see this quite often:

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: No packages to install, update or remove
INFO: Package database updated

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: Removing React (unregistered)

[StefanKarpinski]

Is React required by some other package?

[jiahao]

Yes, on my system I also have Interact installed.

[StefanKarpinski]

Did it actually remove React while Interact was still installed?

[jiahao]

Yes

[JeffBezanson]

What's in your REQUIRE?

[ssfrr]

I've seen the same behavior when developing on AudioIO. I also haven't nailed down a reproducible case, but I think it might have to do with having Pkg.cloneed it instead of Pkg.adding it. Nothing else depends on AudioIO.

[ssfrr]

If it matters, the REQUIRE for AudioIO is:

julia 0.3-
BinDeps
@osx Homebrew

[jiahao]

React has no REQUIRE file. (It does have a REQUIRES file. @shashi - needs rename? also needs the julia 0.3 -> julia 0.3- change)

Interact has a REQUIRE file; its only contents are React.

[kmsquire]

I think he was asking for the contents of ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE.

[shashi]

@jiahao Fixed that, thank you! I want to accept only julia 0.3 or greater. Because some Base functions (foldl, foldr) React imports didn't exist before that. julia 0.3- seems like it accepts only versions below 0.3?

[jiahao]

0.3- catches 0.3 preleases also but nothing in 0.2.x. 0.3 only matches the final release.

[jiahao]

Hmm... my ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE contains React but not Interact.

I think we're on to something:

julia> Pkg.add("React")
INFO: Installing React v0.1.3
INFO: Package database updated

shell> grep React ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE
React

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: No packages to install, update or remove
INFO: Package database updated

shell> grep React ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: Removing React (unregistered)

[IainNZ]

(sidenote: misunderstanding of what 0.3- means is pretty widespread)

[StefanKarpinski]

This misunderstanding has often given me cause to consider how else to do this, but I've never come up with anything better. Part of the confusion is what 0.3- means but some is also due to the close-open version interval thing.

[IainNZ]

maybe we could use some more characters to be more explicit about wanting a range? e.g. julia [0.2 0.3)

[StefanKarpinski]

Yes, that's possible, but I'm not eager to complicate the parser like that.

[jiahao]

Ok, back to the original problem:

1. Starting with a fresh package directory, if I add a new package, I am able to remove its dependencies with a single Pkg.rm without complaint. It doesn't matter if it's registered or not:

julia> Pkg.update()
INFO: Initializing package repository /Users/jiahao/.julia/v0.3
INFO: Cloning METADATA from git://github.com/JuliaLang/METADATA.jl
INFO: Updating METADATA...
INFO: Computing changes...
INFO: No packages to install, update or remove

julia> Pkg.clone("https://github.com/shashi/Interact.jl.git") #Pkg.add something else works too
INFO: Cloning Interact from https://github.com/shashi/Interact.jl.git
INFO: Computing changes...
INFO: Installing React v0.1.3

shell> cat ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: Removing React (unregistered)

julia> using Interact
ERROR: React not found

1. If I have a package and its dependencies added manually, I need to do Pkg.rm twice.

julia> Pkg.add("React"); Pkg.clone("https://github.com/shashi/Interact.jl.git")
...

shell> cat ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE
React

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: No packages to install, update or remove
INFO: Package database updated

shell> cat ~/.julia/v0.3/REQUIRE

julia> Pkg.rm("React")
INFO: Removing React (unregistered)

[tkelman]

I just re-discovered this while working on doing something about #7054. @StefanKarpinski what's the desired behavior here? We have:

function rm(pkg::AbstractString)
    edit(Reqs.rm,pkg) && return
    ispath(pkg) || return info("Nothing to be done")
    info("Removing $pkg (unregistered)")
    Write.remove(pkg)
end

The first time you run Pkg.rm on a package that's a dependency of some other installed package, the edit takes that package out of REQUIRE but otherwise doesn't do anything, but returns true so rm finishes there. The second time, edit returns false so it goes on and thinks the package is unregistered and moves it to .trash. Seems like a bug?