Geek Times – Using RPM to manage packages

Using RPM to manage packages

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In the course of time you may want to add software to your Linux installation, or perhaps to update existing software.

RPMs are available to you on the Linux distribution media, tape or CD-ROM, on the Internet, and perhaps on a floppy (if someone gave you a package). Once you

and copy them into a working directory you’re ready to provide rpm with appropriate command-line options.

Install

rpm -ivh -vv /cdrom/software/package-1.0.0.rpm

The -ivh option results in an verbose install with hash marks to show progress. The -vv option results in very verbose output, useful to see what gets installed and where it ends up.

Once I had to use the –force option because of the following Catch-22:

# rpm -ivh pmud-0.3-2.ppc.rpm

rpm: package pmud-0.3-2.ppc.rpm is already installed.

# rpm -e pmud-0.3-2.ppc.rpm

rpm: package pmud-0.3-2.ppc.rpm is not installed

# rpm -ivh -vv –force pmud-0.3-2.ppc.rpm

[output elided]

#

Use the –test option to show what would be installed and where it would be placed without having anything actually done.

Update

rpm -Uvh -vv /cdrom/software/package-1.0.0.rpm

This time we’re using the -U option to update, rather than -i to install.

Erase

rpm -e /cdrom/software/package-1.0.0.rpm

The -e option results in erasure of the previously-installed package. (The package file tells rpm where to find the components that were installed.) You may hear the erase option called delete or remove.

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