Priority

Each package has a priority defined with one of the following names:

• required (wpkg --remove always fails)
• important
• standard (default when unspecified)
• optional
• extra

Note that although this field is not required, it is recommended that you define it.

Required packages cannot be removed by wpkg because they are expected to be required for the wpkg environment to function properly. Note however that the wpkg package itself is not marked as required, it is only important. However, it is marked as being Essential. This is because wpkg can function as a standalone tool in your Microsoft Windows environment. If wpkg is to be used to install a kernel like environment, then the kernel must be marked as required!

No packages need to be marked as required in a wpkg like environment, although if you use the MinGW environment, the base packages are marked as required. This prevents you from accidentally deleting them with wpkg.

Important packages, such as wpkg, are expected to always be installed in your environment. But your environment will work without them.

Most packages are marked as standard. Packages that are quite specific are marked as optional. Packages that define additional data and tools that are seldom used are marked as extra (often it is part of a larger project, for example you could offer languages in extra packages.)

Note that packages with conflicts are also often marked with priority extra. This allows for people to choose one or the other packages.