The Question: How can I remove an apt package dependency permanently? (running Ubuntu 20.04)
My Example
I have TeX Live 2020 installed via TUG install script, the binaries are located in /usr/local/texlive/2020/bin/x86_64-linux/. Now I would like to install ipe. However, ipe has a dependency on texlive-latex-base, which I do not want to be installed (it is bulky and useless -- actually it installs the 2019 version at the moment).
What I figured out to do so far is to force-remove all texlive packages manually with
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-latex-base"
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-base"
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-depends "texlive-binaries"
and then manually remove the ipe's dependency in /var/lib/dpkg/status.
However, this is not a permanent solution. Indeed, after running, e.g., an update, the texlive packages get installed automatically (probably by some black magic -- I even deleted the cached .deb packages) and the status file gets refreshed and the texlive-latex-base dependency of ipe emerges again.
N.b.: similar question here: Ignoring specific unmet dependencies with aptitude? but no relevant answer (i.e., no permanent solution asked and/or suggested).
