apt-get remove php5 without installing apache2

Question

How can I uninstall/purge php5 without reinstalling apache2?

I have removed apache2 and now I want to remove php5, but the system wants me to reinstall apache2 to uninstall php5. Why?

# aptitude why php5
BB  phpmyadmin Depends libapache2-mod-php5 | libapache2-mod-php5filter | php5-cgi | php5-fpm | php5

Debian is becoming an unjustified dependency hell - I have had similar problems with several packages, and this behaviour does not make sense — Rui F Ribeiro, Apr 23 '17 at 09:50

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 24 '17 at 08:22

You have phpmyadmin installed (albeit in a broken state), which is why whichever tool you’re using want to install apache2 when you try to remove php5. (Although I’d actually expect most tools to want to remove phpmyadmin instead.)

To remove php5 without installing anything else, you need to also remove phpmyadmin.

apt-get remove php5 without installing apache2

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