Design a package installer with dependencies

Q: Design a package installer with dependencies

This question evaluates understanding of package management and dependency resolution, including version constraints, detection of missing packages, conflicts and cycles, handling partial installation failures, and secure modeling and delivery of installation payloads.

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Question

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Design a package installer system (like a simplified OS/package manager) that installs packages while respecting dependency resolution.

Requirements

Input: a request to install package P (optionally with a version constraint).
Each package may depend on other packages (with version constraints).
The system must resolve dependencies and install packages in the correct order.
Detect and report errors clearly:
- missing packages
- version conflicts
- dependency cycles
Handle partial failure (e.g., installation fails mid-way) safely.

Follow-up

What if a package includes a payload (configuration/parameters/artifacts) that must be passed into the installation step? How would you model, validate, and deliver that payload securely and reliably?

Design a package installer with dependencies

Quick Overview

Requirements

Follow-up

Solution

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