Need to prevent a package from being installed

Question

I have a package I do not want to be installed even if another needs it.

Is there any way to "blacklist" a package from being installed even as a dependency or another?

Can I overcome the fact that it is a dependency and still be able to upgrade my system?

I am thinking about the messaging applet thing from Unity. If I remove it and add Unity again for some reason I dont want the applet installed again. How can I prevent it from being installed? (or the global menu, java versions removing my custom installed one, etc... you get the idea).

Answer 1

If a package needs (depends on) another package, then it should not work properly without it. If it can, it is a bug, it should be a recommend and not a depend.

To avoid to install a dependency:

1. download the required packages:

   sudo apt-get --download-only install pkg-name
   

2. remove unwanted packages

   sudo rm /var/cache/apt/archive/bad-pkg_*.deb
   

3. install all other packages

   sudo apt-get --no-download --ignore-missing install pkg-name
   

On the other side, to install a package without recommends:

sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends install pkg-name