Why do so many GNOME packages depend on evolution-data-server?

I was notified of some updates today, but when I looked at the list I saw that they were all about evolution-data-server and evolution-data-server-common. My first thought was that "I don't use evolution at all, so why is this stuff on my machine?"

I then went into Synaptic to purge all things evolution and to my dismay, removing the evolution-data-server-common has the side effect of removing all the Gnome applets, indicators, and several other useful features.

Whats up with that? Honestly...

Solution 1:

That is because many applications can depend on evolution. They have export to evolution, import, or use it as backend. Evolution is Gnome's default PIM data storage center. Unfortunately, for binary distro, that mean that evolution library must be present, or some of such applications will crash. Everything depending on everything is one of the main flaws of binary package distro, like Ubuntu, when compared to source-based, like Gentoo. In Gentoo the problem is addresed differently. Don't try to delete it anyways, cause if it works now, it may be will not after some updates. Are you really so confined in space? Just delete it from menu and forget. By the way, default clock widget in right corner used to depend on evolution too.

Solution 2:

It's a little late, I know, but evolution-data-server is distinct from Evolution the mail client. I had the same wtf moment when I went to install a Gnome app when I don't use Gnome as my DE. A quick search revealed their git repo with this:

The Evolution Data Server package provides a unified backend for programs that work with contacts, tasks, and calendar information. It was originally developed for Evolution (hence the name), but is now used by other packages as well.

https://github.com/GNOME/evolution-data-server/blob/master/README