Package managers are like vehicle transmissions. They are designed a certain way, and if you misuse them, they break. Some are more or less annoying, depending

Package managers are like vehicle transmissions. They are designed a certain way, and if you misuse them, they break. Some are more or less annoying, depending on the perspective of the user and how they use it. Most package managers are some form of automatic transmission. Some provide paddle shifting, some are CVT, some have two clutches and 9 gears, and some just basic four speed boxes of swirling fluid. Almost all of them are a nightmare for a regular person to maintain. That's part of why I use Slackware, which uses Pkgtool. It doesn't track dependencies. It doesn't resolve conflicts. It doesn't roll back changes. It doesn't do much of anything. And it's absolutely wonderful. The only time it ever gets in your way is if you intentionally break it. Of course, i'm on the extreme end of a "power user", but the damn thing is so simple that even a total newbie can grok how it works and the potential for catastrophe if they misuse it (like a manual in a car). Of the ~8 package managers I've used, RPM is the closest to a simple, coherent, complete system. It's still not great, though.