Pruning old Perl installs

[Bill Cole]

On 6 Apr 2020, at 22:23, Kieran Simpson wrote:

> I'm going through my ports installation and pruning out old versions. 
> I've
> cleared out a few Python installs and now Perl is getting the same
> treatment. However I've gotten stuck and am not sure on the best way 
> to
> proceed without breaking something.
>
> $ port installed perl*
> The following ports are currently installed:
>   perl5 @5.26.1_0+perl5_26 (active)
>   perl5.24 @5.24.4_4 (active)
>   perl5.26 @5.26.3_4 (active)
>   perl5.28 @5.28.2_2 (active)
>
> $ port dependents perl5.24
> p5.24-alien-wxwidgets depends on perl5.24
> ....

If you use the 'rdependents' command instead of 'dependents' you will 
get ALL of the dependents of a port, recursively, so you can work from 
the bottom instead of the top and see all of the things that may require 
attention.

> $ sudo port uninstall p5.24-alien-wxwidgets depends on perl5.24
> Note: It is not recommended to uninstall/deactivate a port that has
> dependents as it breaks the dependents.
> The following ports will break: p5-alien-wxwidgets @0.690.0_0
>
> $ port info p5-alien-wxwidgets
> p5-alien-wxwidgets @0.690.0 (perl)
> Replaced by:        p5.26-alien-wxwidgets
> Sub-ports:            p5.26-alien-wxwidgets, p5.28-alien-wxwidgets,
> p5.30-alien-wxwidgets
>
> Library Dependencies: p5.26-alien-wxwidgets
>
> So by removing p5.24-alien-wxwidgets I don't think anything will 
> break.

That seems likely.

> However any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.

Go for it. At worst, you'll need to reinstall a few Perl ports, and they 
mostly install quite fast.

(NOTE: if Mojca gives a different answer, feel free to totally ignore 
mine. )

-- 
Bill Cole
bill at scconsult.com or billcole at apache.org
(AKA @grumpybozo and many *@billmail.scconsult.com addresses)
Not For Hire (currently)