AddRemove

AddRemove is a term used in software and information management to describe a component or tool that handles the addition and removal of items within a system. It is commonly found in package managers, plugin ecosystems, and configuration management frameworks, where maintaining a consistent set of active components is essential.

Core functionality typically includes creation and deletion of items, dependency resolution, conflict detection, and transactional updates. A well-designed AddRemove system tracks changes in a manifest or inventory, ensures that prerequisites are satisfied before installation, and can roll back changes if problems occur during an operation. Some implementations support partial updates, dry runs, and audit trails for accountability.

The underlying architecture generally consists of a core engine, a data store that records installed items, and a user interface such as a command-line tool or API. Items may be represented by metadata objects that include version constraints, source locations, and provenance information. Many systems integrate with external repositories or registries to discover available items and to propagate updates across dependent components.

AddRemove is used across domains, including operating systems, content management systems, and software development environments. Its design goals include idempotence, reproducibility, and safety when removing items that other components depend on. Variants range from small, language-specific package helpers to large, enterprise-grade configuration managers.

See also: package manager, plugin manager, configuration management, inventory management, dependency resolution.