Software Manager displays false "unmet dependencies" errors

[patrioticprayer]

Software Manager displays false "unmet dependencies" errors when clicking on certain packages, even though the system is healthy.

Affected packages:

• zlib1g
• gpgv
• grub-efi-amd64-signed
• base-files

Environment:

• Linux Mint 22.2 (Zara)
• mintinstall 8.3.8
• i386 architecture enabled (for Brother printer drivers)
• zlib1g installed for both amd64 and i386

Verification that system is healthy:

• sudo apt-get check: passes
• dpkg --audit: no output
• sudo apt install -f: nothing to fix
• apt-get -s dist-upgrade: 0 changes needed
• All affected packages install/reinstall successfully

The error appears to be a display/parsing issue in Software Manager's dependency resolver, possibly related to:

1. Multiarch packages (same package for amd64 and i386)
2. Linux Mint's base-files version pinning
3. OR-dependencies in shim-signed

Workaround: Use Synaptic or apt command line instead.

[abebinder]

Random community member here. I researched and learned some things...

1. When you go to the mint software manager page for an installed package, it simulates removing the package. If the simulation is successful, the page for the installed package looks normal and you can click uninstall button. If simulation throws an error (as it did in this case, you will see the error window pop up and not be able to click the uninstall button).
2. all the packages you mentioned are dependencies of essential packages. Eg: apt/dpkg depend on zlib1g, so without zlib1g the system would pretty much be bricked.
3. Apt will throw the same error when you try to remove the package with apt remove zlib1g

So software manager is doing the right thing to block the uninstall. However, a better experience might be either of the following

1. Completely hide these essential packages in the software manager
2. Continue to still show the essential packages, but don't show the error pop up when you look at them, instead, just grey out the uninstall button. For extra credit, have some sort of message that the package is essential so it can't be uninstalled.

I'm going to see if I can make a pr for (2) and see what the maintainers think of that.

[abebinder]

Aha, I found that for some packages, their behavior is to grey out the uninstall button with "Cannot remove " message and a tooltip that it would brick the system to remove them

I think these dependencies of essential packages should behave the exact same way, will try for that.

[abebinder]

Pull request: linuxmint/mintcommon#72