Zorin-os-desktop... not so mandatory?

So what exactly does this package do? It sounds scary to remove, but in the process of switching to Pipewire, removing PulseAudio stuff took zorin-os-desktop with it, as the latter depended on the former. I've confirmed I don't have the package installed anymore via apt list, but I don't notice a single change in functionality or appearance.

Have you installed another Desktop Environment like XFCE, Mate, Cinnamon or Plasma?

Zorin OS Core comes with only one Desktop Environment: Zorin OS Desktop (Gnome).

So if a user removes it and there is no other Desktop Environment; they will have no D.E. to log into.

I haven't! I'm still on GNOME.

$ apt list zorin-os-desktop
Listing... Done
zorin-os-desktop/jammy 1.6.8 amd64
$ echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP
zorin:GNOME

The first shows it isn't installed, the second shows me on zorin:GNOME.

Do you still have GDM3, Zorin Appearance, etc installed?

Did you reboot after removing the ZorinOSDesktop packages?

Yes to both.

$ apt list zorin-appearance gdm3
Listing... Done
gdm3/jammy,now 42.0-1ubuntu7.22.04.4+zorin1 amd64 [installed]
zorin-appearance/jammy,jammy,now 5.3.5 all [installed]

I made the change a few days ago and shut down completely every night, so more than once, yes.

Edit: To be 100% clear, there is no "help" request here; this is a request for information. When I said there was no discernible difference after removing zorin-os-desktop, I really meant none. I'm just trying to figure out what a package that seems so ingrained in the system actually does if removal is consequence free.

Well... Users have accidentally removed it before and have come here for help because doing so broke their system.
What does terminal command:

apt list -i | grep zorin-os-desktop

yield?

A warning that apt doesn't have a stable CLI interface, and absolutely nothing else.

$ apt list -i | grep zorin-os-desktop

WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.

What about

apt list -i | grep zorin-os-lite-desktop

Identical output. Just the warning.

The only thing I can figure is that you did uninstall something... but all your Zorin OS themes and Gnome Desktop are still installed.
Just to be safe, if I were you, I would run

sudo apt install zorin-os-desktop

*enters command*

Ah...ahahaha...

I appreciate the recommendation and your time, but upon having entered that command and seeing what ELSE it wants to install, I think I shall opt for the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" method right now. For context, zorin-os-desktop wants me to install these:

alacarte bogofilter bogofilter-bdb bogofilter-common brasero brasero-cdrkit
  cheese dvdauthor evolution evolution-common evolution-ews
  evolution-plugin-bogofilter evolution-plugin-pstimport evolution-plugins
  genisoimage gir1.2-gst-plugins-bad-1.0 gir1.2-gweather-3.0 gir1.2-rb-3.0
  gnome-calendar gnome-clocks gnome-contacts gnome-power-manager
  gnome-sound-recorder gnome-video-effects gnome-weather growisofs gufw
  libavahi-ui-gtk3-0 libchamplain-0.12-0 libchamplain-gtk-0.12-0
  libcmark0.30.2 libevolution libgail-3-0 libgnome-autoar-gtk-0-0
  libgpod-common libgpod4 libgsl27 libgslcblas0 liblirc-client0 libmspack0
  libpst4 librhythmbox-core10 libsgutils2-2 libvncclient1 libytnef0
  media-player-info pulseaudio pulseaudio-module-bluetooth python3-mako
  remmina remmina-common remmina-plugin-rdp remmina-plugin-secret
  remmina-plugin-vnc rhythmbox rhythmbox-data
  rhythmbox-plugin-alternative-toolbar rhythmbox-plugins simple-scan wodim
  zorin-os-desktop

And suggests additionally installing these:

db5.3-util doc-base vcdimager libdvdcss2 readom gnome-video-effects-frei0r
  evolution-plugins-experimental cdrkit-doc gnome-video-effects-extra
  gsl-ref-psdoc | gsl-doc-pdf | gsl-doc-info | gsl-ref-html lirc sg3-utils
  pavumeter pavucontrol paprefs ubuntu-sounds gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad
  python3-beaker python-mako-doc remmina-plugin-exec remmina-plugin-kwallet
  remmina-plugin-spice remmina-plugin-www remmina-plugin-x2go
  gnome-codec-install rhythmbox-plugin-cdrecorder rhythmbox-plugin-zeitgeist

Among those are an awful lot of GNOME applications I specifically removed to declutter since I'll never use them, and of course a bunch of stuff I don't recognize and don't want to throw in all at once, such that I won't know which package did [thing]. Maybe next time I do a full system backup.

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You might need these two... Other than that, I do not see any essential system librarires or packages; If you are not noticing any issues or things missing for applications... Then, more power to you.

This is the Main Menu menu editor application you see us sometimes mention. It can be installed independently.

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The clock in the taskbar is working as expected, and I haven't seen any other issues related to timekeeping. Since I use a VPN, I'm fairly sensitive to time issues as they can break connecting. As for the power manager, I tend to keep my PC on or off. I don't like sleep or hibernate, and it's a desktop, so it always has access to power.

I use the application grid style appearance, so there's no (visible) categorization or grouping of my applications, except for one little Utilities group.


That largely reduces the value of Main Menu, I think. Good to know, though. Oblique package names make me nuts, and it's something I can provide in the future if someone's missing it.

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Now that you know what packages are missing, you can reference that list if you run into trouble later on.

Rhythmbox is a media player, Evolution is an email organizer, Remmina is a remote desktop sharing application.
Cheese is webcam. Brasero is a DVD/CD/.iso burning tool. Pulseaudio and Pavucontrol deal with sound - if you are fine on ALSA then more power to you.

GnomeClocks and Gnome Power Manager deal with more than just timekeeping and whether the computer is off or on - So just tack these on a list of things to check if you have something causing issues in the future.

If you move to install an application that depends on them - it will tell you that it is missing that dependency or offer to install that dependency alongside the application.

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Yep, consciously removed all of these as useless to me. Left some evolution components because they seemed to underpin Zorin specific stuff, to my surprised/confusion.

The original removal of zorin-os-desktop was a side effect of removing PulseAudio components. They're a dependency for zorin-os-desktop, and I pulled out PulseAudio and put Pipewire in its place, so that one's less gone and more replaced.

$ pactl info
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 867
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: aaron
Host Name: Swire
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 0.3.48)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.usb-SteelSeries_Arctis_Nova_Pro_Wireless-00.analog-stereo
Default Source: alsa_input.usb-Sony_Interactive_Entertainment_DualSense_Wireless_Controller-00.analog-stereo
Cookie: dd8d:1ab9

I'll certainly keep an eye out for any complaints from the system about Gnome Clocks or power manager. Running them from shortcuts, they presented as useless to me, but I certainly don't know what else they might do.

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Side-comment: On my last Zorin install I replaced everything desktop-wise with Plasma and Enlightenment. No issues other than I could not update Enlightenment which kept nagging to install the updated version.

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I'm still fixated on Plasma 6 and continue distro hopping on weekends in the vain hope that I'll find something better suited to my use case and preferences, so I haven't been willing to invest the time replacing the whole desktop environment in Zorin.

My inconsiderate language in another thread and Aravisian's justified umbrage were a reminder that while Zorin is a good distribution and this community is great, Zorin's not for me. The more I try to force it to be, the more I'm going to run into its limitations as something based on an LTS, get annoyed at things that are as they should be for Zorin's intent, and generally vex myself and others trying to fit square pegs in round holes.

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Do you still have Things like the Taskbar, Start Menu and this Stuff? And did you cheked what Gnome Version you have? And when You on the Login Screen and click on the Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner when Your Profile is chosen, what Options are shown to You?

That is a fascinating Situation.

Yes, sadly I think Gnome is partly responsible for this. It's why I no longer use it as my go to. Now it is PCLOS Debian Plasma 5.27. Suits me fine. As does Q4OS.

Taskbar: yes
Start menu: I use an appearance that has an application grid, not a start menu, but the grid was unchanged.

As to the GNOME version and gear on the login screen, I'm on another distro right now so I can't check. I'll try to reproduce this situation next time I return to Zorin.