** Using RPM **

Here are my most commonly used RPM commands.

See <a href="../gnulinux.html"> more sections
on Gnu/Linux </a>.

RPM is a handy way to ship and install code
for most linux distributions.  See an
excellent introduction at
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-rpm1/
and many referencees at http://www.rpm.org/

First look for rpms on your installation
disks.

If you are installing from Redhat or Fedora
you can find and install packages with
``yum''.  These will download
rpm's appropriate for your distribution, then
install or upgrade.

Not every rpm is assembled correctly.  If you
cannot find an rpm for your distribution,
then download and compile the source code.
Source rpms are available that install only
source code under ``/usr/src''.

The CD's that install RedHat and Mandrake
come with large directories of rpms.  If I
have a large disk drive, then I copy iso
images of the CDs to a directory under
``/usr/src.'' You can then read the disk
image by mounting it as a file system:

=>
mount -o loop -t iso9660 imagefile.iso imagedir
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Most CD installs come with a directory of
``rpm'' files for additional features.  (Look
in ``/mnt/cdrom''.)  Install as root, with
the single command

=>
rpm -Uvh psutils-1.17-5.i386.rpm
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You will be told if you need to install other
software first.  (Using ``-U'' instead of
``-i'' will replace previous versions.)  You
can test dependencies without installing, and
without becoming root, by adding the
``--test'' flag:

=>
rpm -Uvh --test xsane-0.77-4.i386.rpm 
error: failed dependencies:
     sane-backends >= 1.0.5-3 is needed by xsane-0.77-4
     libsane.so.1   is needed by xsane-0.77-4
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Include all dependencies in a single install
command:

=>
rpm -Uvh --test xsane-0.77-4.i386.rpm sane-backends-1.0.5-4.i386.rpm
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
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See what files will be installed by an rpm
with

=>
 rpm -qlp psutils-1.17-5.i386.rpm
or
 less psutils-1.17-5.i386.rpm
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``less'' nicely formats the contents and
descriptive information inside an rpm.

See what rpm package and version was used to
install a file by

=>
  rpm -qf /usr/bin/latex2html 
tetex-latex-1.0.7-30
<=

See dependencies with

=>
  rpm -qRf /usr/bin/latex2html 
or
  rpm -qR tetex-latex-1.0.7-30
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See what other files were installed by the
package with

=>
  rpm -qlf /usr/bin/latex2html 
or
  rpm -ql tetex-latex-1.0.7-30
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List all installed packages with

=>
  rpm -qa | sort
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If you do not want to install in public
system directories, specify an alternative
like ``--prefix /my/usr/local/''.

To uninstall, use the ``--erase'' option, and
test first.

If you download the entire updates directory
for your distribution, then you can upgrade
all packages you have installed without
installing anything new:

=>
  rpm -Fvh *.rpm
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Rpm updates have been known to hang because a
previous one was killed and left a lock file
behind.  Delete the lock files with ``rm -f
/var/lib/rpm/__*''

See if you have accidentally deleted any
dependencies with 

=>
rpm -Va
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Verify a particular program with

=>
rpm -Vf /usr/bin/program
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Extract all rpm files locally with

=>
cat src.rpm | rpm2cpio | pax -r
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Bill Harlan, 2004