Uninstalling Thunderbird

[vazhavandan]

@stakanov

If you take off a program you may be left with a “leftover” in the /home directory. It will be hidden file (in your case probably .thunderbird with your data in it). This is not really an error. It happens that you have to take off and re-install a program that for example encountered a problem after a sever crash or disk-fault of a sector. Now if un-install would trigger the removal of private user data, this would be a problematic event. Sometimes there are also a few temporary files left over, however in the mean programs leave if every some directories that hold config data or mail etc.
BTW one of the idea of using Akonadi was that different programs would be able to use the very same database, reducing the need of extra directories for private data and avoid unwanted redundancy.
Now if you compare this to windows, what is NOT left over is a growing charge of garbage inside the registry that slows down the system and after a while can lead to problems. The system therefore is not ageing. So the install and take off process of programs in Linux is efficient, you have only the fact of few private data.
If dependencies are not direct and you install a specific plug-in or supplement to a program it may be that these are “left over” after un-install of the original program. This is often so if the supplemental program is able to work also with other software or as stand alone solution.

Typical example could be my-spell dictionaries or also if you try: install google earth. It will trigger the install of qt3 (by itself able to be standalone and words with other applications) and make (which is a tool for installing software (compliation). Now if you uninstall google-earth out of the 8 packages that are triggered by the install, 5 are “left overs” but they are still regularly installed. When you want to have a complete clean of everything (typically after “trial and error” of a programme you will know what day you performed the install. Yast offers a chronology allowing you to check which package were installed and if you wish to take them off.

All these facts are unlike windows not “clutter” but functional. It is like you would buy a pink barby horse, with a nice white plastic saddle and decide to buy also two pairs of roller-skates for the hoofs of the poor animal. Now if you decide to get rid of the horse, the saddle would be take away too as it depends on the horse but the skates may stay because you would be able to use them also without the horse. The system therefore does not know by itself that you wanted to get rid of them too. They are functional and do not slow down. You only decide if they are now unwanted. The system can not.

P.S. if you like to see a nice example of interaction of programs try “amor” a little worm that runs long your screen. It offers to programmers to use it to publish their tool tips (for their programs). So imagine you use it and get rid of one of the programs that use it. Amor would be then in your definition a “left over” as it would stay, because it can be stand alone or work with other programs.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/toys/detail-page/B000ELIXAY-1-lg.jpg

What is the deal with pony and barbie ?