Graphical Package Managers
I'm not going to discuss the handling of graphical package
managers like Mandrake Linux' Software Manager, GnoRPM or KPackage here.
They come with their own extensive online help. Furthermore will understanding
the basics of the RPM system enable you to handle all of them.
Check out the Linux Demo and Tutorial Center
for animated guides to KPackage and the Software Manager. The official Mandrake
Linux 'Installation and User Guide' also dedicates a complete chapter to
Package Management with the Software Manager.
Package Names
The name of an RPM consists of three parts: the archive
name, the archive version number and the version number of the package.
Thus 'mc-4.5.51-7mdk.rpm' means: 'This package contains an archive called
'mc', version 4.5.51. It is the seventh revision of this particular package.'
'mdk' denotes the distribution (not mandatory).
Why an extra number for the package version? Packaging
is a complex process. Sometimes the packager may overlook some detail and
has to come up with a fixed package. Or maybe he or she just has discovered
a way to make the package better. The package version number allows upgrading
packages which contain the same version of an archive. Notice that a package
version number can consist of two parts, separated by a full stop. This usually
signifies a package which has been updated for security reasons.
Sooner or later you will encounter packages like 'mc-4.5.51-7mdk.src.rpm.
These are Source RPMs. Unless you know what these are and how to handle them,
they are of no use for you.
Archive Name Or File Name?
RPM discriminates between a not-installed and an installed
package.
Operations on a not-installed package require the full file name
as the argument to the RPM command, like
rpm -i mc-4.5.51-7mdk.rpm
to install the package 'mc-4.5.51-7mdk.rpm' on the local
system.
If you are doing something involving an installed
package, however, its archive name is required:
rpm -e mc
erases the package containing the 'mc' archive from
the system. This works because you can't install two RPMs with the same archive
name on the same system.
If you are trying to do something like
rpm -e mc-4.5.51-7mdk.rpm
you will get
error: package mc-4.5.51-7mdk.rpm is not installed
even if the package is installed.
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RPM accepts a sackful of options. Thankfully it is pretty
obvious from their names what they do.
Most options come in two flavors: a long option and a short option. The long
option features two hyphens and the full option name, the short one hyphen
and - in most cases - the first character of the full option. Of course you
only have to provide one option form, i.e. either rpm --installpackage
or rpm -i package.
If the argument to RPM is a file name, you can use globbing patterns to specify a
set of files, e.g.:
rpm -i bla*
will install all packages in the current directory which
begin with the string 'bla'. Operations which require the archive name, however,
donot accept them:
rpm -e *gtk*
error: package *gtk* is not installed
Remember that RPM doesn't care whether not-installed
packages are on a local file system or on a remote web or FTP server. Every
operation on a not-installed package can be done remotely by supplying the
full URL to the package(s):
rpm -qpi ftp://ftp.server.com/RPMS/bla*
gets the descriptions from all packages starting with
'bla' which are located in the 'RPMS' directory on ftp.server.com.
Installing, Upgrading, Removing
All of these commands require 'root' privileges.
- rpm -i package installs
a package.
- rpm -e archive erases
it.
- rpm -U package upgrades
an installed package with a newer version.
- rpm -F packages freshens
a set of RPMs. That is it will check which of the specified packages are
installed in earlier versions and upgrade them in the correct order.
There are two special modifiers used in conjunctions
with these options, '--test' and '--verbose' (or '-v').
'--test' only executes the command 'as if': that is
you get all the messages RPM usually produces, but the command itself is
not executed. This modifier has no short option.
'--verbose' ('-v') increases the amount of output RPM
displays on the screen. This is especially useful in case of errors or together
with the '--test' modifier. Adding another '-v' ('-vv') increases the level
of verbosity even more.
Querying
These commands do not require 'root' privileges. Notice
that when you are querying not-installed packages, you have to add the '-p'
option to the '-q' option.
- rpm -q archive queries
for package name and version of an installed package:
rpm -q mc
mc-4.5.51-7mdk
- rpm -qp package does the same
on a package which isn't installed.
- rpm -qi archive informs
you about the package's purpose, who packaged it when and where, when it
has been installed, its size etc. To query a not-installed package, run rpm
-qpipackage
- rpm -ql archive lists
all file in an installed package.
- rpm -qd archive lists alldocumentation
files in an installed package.
- rpm -qa lists all installed
packages. Useful when used in combination with 'grep'.
- rpm -qa --last lists all installed packages
sorted by their installation date, newest first.
- rpm -q --changelog archive
displays the list of changes applied to a package by its maintainer(s).
- rpm -qf file tells you which
installed packagefile belongs to.
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Using additional utilities and the somewhat awkward
'--queryformat' option, there's almost nothing you can't find out about a
package or the local RPM database.
Looking For Installed Packages Matching A Pattern
A common problem: you want to check if a package is
installed, but you don't remember it's exact name (or are too lazy to type
it). Use
rpm -qa | grep -i pattern
This is a so-called pipe with the grep command (the '-i' option makes
the search case insensitive). So, a command like
rpm -qa | grep -i xfree
will return a list of all installed packages with the
string 'xfree' in them, regardless of capitalization.
Looking For A File In Uninstalled Packages
Another common problem: which package contains a certain
file? Put your Mandrake CD into your drive (let's say it's '/mnt/cdrom')
and type
for i in /mnt/cdrom/Mandrake/RPMS/*.rpm ; do rpm
-qpli $i | grepfilename && echo $i ; done
This for-do loop will return the name of the package
which containsfilename, if there is such a package on the CD.
That's a tad tedious, advanced queries usually should be performed using
the Mandrake Linux 'urpm' tools to be introduced on the next page.
Listing Installed Packages By Installation Size
If you've cared to read the introduction on the first
page, you already know that RPMs are made with the help of spec files. The
'--queryformat' option allows you to query each spec file field of any given
RPM separately and in any preferred order. Enter
rpm --querytags
to get a list of all valid fields. The formatting is
a bit complicated and best explained by means of an example.
Imagine you are short on disk space and want a list of all installed packages
sorted by size to find out which package would be best to uninstall. This
is what the command (one line) would look like:
rpm -qa --queryformat '%{name} %{size}\n' | sort
-n +1 | column -t
Tough one, eh? ;) The first part does all the work:
querying all packages by the 'querytags' 'name' and 'size' only (have to
be enclosed in '%{[tag]}'). Since the 'querytags' string contains spaces,
it has to be enclosed in single quotes. The '/n' inserts a line break after
each line.
The 'sort' command sorts the output (largest package last) and 'column' makes
two nicely separated columns: names on the left, size in bytes on the right.
As long as you remember the special querytags formatting rules, you should
have no trouble using this option.
You see that you can do a lot of nifty things with RPMs,
but the more you want, the more complicated the RPM syntax gets. Other capabilities
like the automatic resolution of dependencies or globbing of archive names
are missing completely. Time for Mandrake Linux' 'urpm' ...
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 RPM Mandrake Style:
urpm
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