One of the most useful package types is called meta packages. These are packages that contain no software themselves, but that require other packages to be installed, and thus provide a unified set of software for a particular purpose. This works because, although no actual software is in the meta package, the package manager will select and install all of the required dependent packages, providing a complete set of features in a single, easy installation step.
Frequently, there are multiple packages with slightly different names that install a slightly different set of dependencies. A good example is GNOME. You can install the GNOME meta package, which will provide a complete GNOME installation, including many extras. Or, you can elect to install gnome -core, which provides only the basic desktop environment, and select from any of the additional packages that provide additional features and functions, such as:
- evolution (e-mail software, similar to Outlook)
- gnome-documents (document management features)
- gnome-games
- gnome-media (multimedia applications)
- libreoffice-gnome (office suite) and others
One minor problem with meta packages is that there is no easy way to search for them. Many do have 'meta' in their descriptions, which can facilitate some searches, but this is not universally true. The GNOME packages mentioned previously do not follow this convention as of Debian 7. Nevertheless, they are often fairly obvious, and not too difficult to find.
