Ignore all dependencies for a specific package with apt-get

Solution 1:

I understand bjanssen's point, but it seems ridiculous for a package manager to allow --force-depends for a single package install, but not allow force-depends-forever-and-stop-warning-me-about-this-dependency.

I had a similar problem with a package which depended on a libcairo version slightly higher than the one currently available in Debian. For my purposes it still works fine. I'm happy to keep using it until the libcairo update appears in apt. I don't want to compile from source or build my own package.

The solution I found:

• edit /var/lib/dpkg/status,
• find the package with the broken dependencies
• edit the Depends: line to stop the package complaining.

I assume that will be overwritten the next time the package is updated, but that's exactly what i want.

Solution 2:

What you try to do is against the purpose of a package manager, which tries to keep a sane environment, i. o. w. you are using the wrong tool for the job. Don't try to break apt-get.

The right way to solve your issue is to build your own package with dependencies that suit you. There is the official way (quite involved: http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/index.en.html) and the quick and dirty way using apt-build, or for packages not in the distribution source, checkinstall. All produce packages apt-get will happily install.

On a final note, you may question the wisdom of the maintainer of esl-erlang to include certain dependencies, but you cannot fault the package manager for intended behavior. If you think these dependencies are wrong, you should file a bug with the package.