dependencedepends

Dependencedepends is a concept in dependency management that denotes the transitive dependency relation of a software package. It comprises all packages that are ultimately required for a given package to operate, including both direct dependencies and dependencies of those dependencies.

Formally, if A depends on B and B depends on C, then A dependencedepends includes B and C. More generally, dependencedepends is the transitive closure of the depends relation in the package dependency graph. This notion is distinct from direct dependencies, which are the immediate packages listed as requirements.

Dependencedepends is used to analyze install requirements, plan build order, and detect potential version conflicts or license obligations that propagate through a dependency chain. It also helps in assessing the impact of removing or upgrading a package, since changes can ripple through all packages in its dependencedepends set.

Computing the dependencedepends relation typically involves traversing the dependency graph, using depth-first search or other transitive-closure algorithms. In large graphs, incremental updates and caching can improve performance, because only affected portions of the graph need re-evaluation after changes.

Challenges include cycles, which can create ambiguous dependencedepends sets, and version constraints that must be reconciled across multiple paths. Practical tools present dependencedepends as part of dependency trees, resolution plans, or reports on total install footprints.

See also: depends, transitive dependency, dependency graph, closure.