Packages `python-apt-common` and `python3-apt` in kinetic

This is an Ubuntu 22.10 system release-upgraded from previous versions. Running:

$ pro security-status --unavailable
2036 packages installed:
     2 packages no longer available for download

Packages that are not available for download may be left over from a
previous release of Ubuntu, may have been installed directly from a
.deb file, or are from a source which has been disabled.

Packages:
python-apt-common python3-apt
[...]

lists python-apt-common and python3-apt as "no longer available for download".

I do not know anything about these two packages. Searching https://packages.ubuntu.com/ didn't give me any good information.

Is it safe to delete these? Are they replaced by other packages in a newly installed Ubuntu 22.10 system?

Please, note the following command output (which is scary!):

$ apt --dry-run remove python-apt-common python3-apt
NOTE: This is only a simulation!
      apt needs root privileges for real execution.
      Keep also in mind that locking is deactivated,
      so don't depend on the relevance to the real current situation!
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
  apg apport-symptoms aptdaemon-data cabextract distro-info gir1.2-snapd-2 gir1.2-vte-2.91 gnome-control-center-faces gnome-online-accounts libcolord-gtk4-1 libglu1-mesa libgnome-bluetooth-ui-3.0-13 libgnome-rr-4-2 libgssdp-1.2-0
  libgupnp-1.2-1 libgupnp-av-1.0-3 libgupnp-dlna-2.0-4 librygel-core-2.6-2 librygel-db-2.6-2 librygel-renderer-2.6-2 librygel-server-2.6-2 libwhoopsie-preferences0 libxatracker2 mobile-broadband-provider-info network-manager-gnome
  python3-click python3-colorama python3-debconf python3-defer python3-distro-info python3-gdbm python3-httplib2 python3-jeepney python3-keyring python3-launchpadlib python3-lazr.restfulclient python3-lazr.uri python3-problem-report
  python3-pyparsing python3-secretstorage python3-wadllib rygel rygel-tracker whoopsie-preferences x11-session-utils xinit xinput xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-libinput xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-all
  xserver-xorg-video-amdgpu xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-fbdev xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-qxl xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware
Use 'apt autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  apport apport-gtk aptdaemon command-not-found gdebi-core gnome-control-center language-selector-common language-selector-gnome python-apt-common python3-apport python3-apt python3-aptdaemon python3-aptdaemon.gtk3widgets
  python3-commandnotfound python3-distupgrade python3-software-properties python3-update-manager software-properties-common software-properties-gtk ttf-mscorefonts-installer ubuntu-advantage-desktop-daemon ubuntu-advantage-tools
  ubuntu-desktop ubuntu-desktop-minimal ubuntu-drivers-common ubuntu-minimal ubuntu-release-upgrader-core ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk update-manager update-manager-core update-notifier update-notifier-common xorg xserver-xorg
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 34 to remove and 6 not upgraded.
[...]

Let's find out if these packages are safe to delete....

Let's test the removal of the python3-apt package, and see of it's significant:

$ apt remove python3-apt --simulate | wc -l

75

Well, it removes 75 packages. That is a lot! It might be serious. Let's look for metapackage removals:

$ apt remove python3-apt --simulate | grep "Remv ubuntu"

Remv ubuntu-desktop [1.497]
Remv ubuntu-desktop-minimal [1.497]
Remv ubuntu-advantage-desktop-daemon [1.10] [ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk:amd64 ]
Remv ubuntu-advantage-tools [27.11.3~22.10.1] [ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk:amd64 ubuntu-minimal:amd64 ]
Remv ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk [1:22.10.8] [python3-distupgrade:amd64 ubuntu-drivers-common:amd64 python3-software-properties:amd64 python3-update-manager:amd64 ubuntu-minimal:amd64 ]
Remv ubuntu-release-upgrader-core [1:22.10.8] [python3-distupgrade:amd64 ubuntu-drivers-common:amd64 python3-software-properties:amd64 python3-update-manager:amd64 ubuntu-minimal:amd64 ]
Remv ubuntu-drivers-common [1:0.9.6.3] [ubuntu-minimal:amd64 ]
Remv ubuntu-minimal [1.497]

Oh, my. That's mighty serious: Removing python3-apt looks like seriously bad news for the system. It removes the desktop metapackage and even the minimal system metapackage. Removal of this package is definitely NOT safe.

• You can see from this example that your Ubuntu system depends upon the Python3 bindings for apt. This makes sense: Many of the features that make Ubuntu great are written in Python3.

• You can use the same method to test python-apt-common.