pkgrm Command

Purpose

Removes a package or set from the system.

Syntax

To Remove an Installed Software Package

pkgrm [ -n] [ -a Admin] [-P Path ] [ Pkginst1 [ Pkginst2 [. . .]]]

To Remove a Software Package from a Spool Device

pkgrm -s Spool [ Pkginst]

Description

pkgrm removes a previously installed or partially installed package/set from the system. A package is a collection of related files and executables that can be independently installed. A set is made up of a special-purpose package, referred to as a Set Installation Package (SIP), and a collection of one or more packages that are members of the set.

pkgrm checks that all packages listed on the command line are on the system. If any of the packages listed does not exist, no changes are made to the system, that is, none of the listed packages are removed.

A check is also made to determine if any other packages depend on the one being removed. The action taken if a dependency exists is defined in the Admin file (see the -a flag, below).

The default state for the command is interactive mode, meaning that prompt messages are given during processing to allow the administrator to confirm the actions being taken. Non-interactive mode can be requested with the -n flag.

The -s flag can be used to specify the directory from which spooled packages should be removed.

Flags

Item Description
-n Enables non-interactive mode. If there is a need for interaction, the command exits. Use of this flag requires that at least one package instance be named upon invocation of the command.
-a Admin Defines an installation administration file, Admin, to be used in place of the default administration file. [For a description of the format of an Admin file, see the admin file format.] The token "none" overrides the use of any Admin file, and thus forces interaction with the user. Unless a full pathname is given, pkgrm looks in the /var/sadm/install/admin directory for the file. By default, the file default in that directory is used.
-P Path Removes the specified packages from the alternative root directory path.
-s Spool Removes the specified package(s) from the directory Spool.
Pkginst Defines a short string used to designate an abbreviation for the package/set name. (The term "package instance" is used loosely: it refers to all instantiations of Pkginst, even those that do not include instance identifiers.)

If Pkginst specifies a SIP, all installed packages which are members of the set, and the SIP itself, are removed in reverse dependency order.

To indicate all instances of a package, specify 'Pkginst.*', enclosing the command line in single quotes, as shown, to prevent the shell from interpreting the "*" character. Use the token "all" to refer to all packages available on the source medium.

Exit Status

This command returns the following exit values:
Item Description
0 Successful completion of script.
1 Fatal error. Installation process is terminated at this point.
99 Internal error.

Files

Item Description
/usr/sbin/pkgrm Contains the pkgrm command