... the difference between an RPM and an SRPM?
An S(ource)RPM does not contain the compiled program,
but the sources the RPM has been built from. You usually only need to bother
with them, if you want to rebuild an RPM because of incompatibilities (see
below).
SRPMs are marked by the file name ending 'src.rpm'.
... the difference between 'bla.rpm' and 'bla-devel.rpm'?
The '-devel-' RPMs contain the so-called 'header' files,
i.e. stuff you need to compile other programs 'against' it. Non-devel RPMs
contain the 'runtime' files, i.e. all the files you need for normal operation.
Unless you intend to compile programs for yourself, you don't need '-devel-'
RPMs at all.
... the difference between installing and upgrading?
'Upgrade' replaces an earlier version, 'installation'
leaves previously installed versions untouched (if possible).
This is quite important when it comes to 'libraries' (these contain code applications
rely on). Different programs may rely on different versions of the same library.
'Upgrading' would break those programs which relied on the replaced library
version. RPM would not allow you to do this.
It is no problem, however, to have several versions of the same library installed
on your system.
... the difference between '[...].rpmnew' and '[...].rpmsave'
files?
Both refer to configuration files. An '[...].rpmnew'
file contains the new file from the RPM. The original file is untouched.
An '[...].rpmsave' file contains the old version of the file. The original
file has been replaced by the file contained in the RPM.
 section index  top
... list installed RPMs (by installation date or size)?
rpm -qa | less
lists all installed RPMs in the 'less' pager.
By installation date:
rpm -qa --last | less
By size:
rpm -qa --queryformat '%{name} %{size}\n' | sort
-n +1 | column -t
... list available packages?
less /var/lib/urpmi/compss
In 'pure' RPM, you can create lists by redirecting RPM's output
to a file:
rpm -qpi *.rpm > ~/rpmlist.txt
... find an RPM containing a certain file?
urpmf file
If you are not using the 'urpm' system, use this command:
for i in *.rpm ; do rpm -qpli $i | grep file
&& echo $i ; done
You can also use the search machine at rpmfind.net. Just enter the name
of the file you are looking for.
Most graphical RPM tools offer a search function, too.
... extract one or more files from an RPM?
Some file managers like the Midnight Commander (mc)
allow you to browse RPMs like directories and to copy files to a directory
of your choice.
The 'rpm2cpio' command allows you to convert an RPM
into a 'cpio' archive, which can then be operated on with the 'cpio' command.
... upgrade from a directory also containing not-installed
RPMs?
rpm -F *.rpm
will upgrade all RPMs which are installed and for which
the directory contains newer versions.
... upgrade a set of RPMs which depend on one another?
See previous entry.
... install or upgrade RPMs to a Linux system different
from the one I'm currently on?
Use the '--root=[dir]' option. If you've booted the
Mandrake
Linux rescue system, for example, you can install RPMs to the Linux system
on the hard disk mounted on '/mnt' with
rpm -i --root=/mnt /path/package
Notice that this only works locally, not via a network
connection.
... (re)install an older version of ('downgrade') an
installed RPM?
rpm -U --oldpackage package
... install an RPM which is incompatible (different
library versions, paths etc)?
Get the source RPM for this package, usually denoted
by '[packagename].src.rpm' and use this command from the 'rpm-build' package
to recompile and install it:
rpmbuild --recompile SRPM
If you want RPM to build a new package, too, use
rpmbuild --rebuild SRPM
Notice that this process often requires some 'devel'
RPMs to be installed. You will find the rebuilt RPM in '/usr/src/RPM/RPMS/arch'.
If the RPM is incompatible only because of installation
path differences, you can either try to 'relocate' it:
rpm -i --relocate oldpath=newpath
or - before you install it - you link the RPMs installation
directory to the one preferred by your system, e.g.
ln -s /usr /opt/kde
for SuSE's or Caldera's KDE RPMs.
... get more feedback from RPM on what it is doing?
Add the '-hv' option to get a progress bar. For more
text output, use the '-v' or even the '-vv' option.
... exclude certain files from being installed?
rpm -i --excludepath path package
excludes all files whose name begins with path.
rpm -i --excludedocs package
doesn't install documentation files. This can be useful
for 'devel' packages which come with loads of documentation. May not work
with some RPMs
... build RPMs?
Duh, that would be an article in it's own right ;).
A good introduction can be found in the RPM HOWTO. Still the authoritative
source on this topic is Maximum RPM.
For Mandrake specific information, have a look at the Mandrake RPM HOWTO.
section index top
... RPM complains about conflicting files from previously
installed RPMs?
Sometimes files are provided by multiple packages. If
you try to install an RPM which contains files already installed by another
RPM, use
rpm -i --replacefiles package
... RPM complains about an RPM version conflict (RPM
3, RPM 4)?
Install RPM 3.0.5 from the ML 7.2 release. This version
is the only RPM 3.x version which can handle RPMs packaged with RPM 4.x.
ML 8 uses RPM 4, which is backward compatible.
... RPM complains about 'failing to open //var/lib/rpm/packages.rpm'?
Only 'root' may install, upgrade or remove packages.
Use su or sudo.
... I can't use urpmi / urpme as a normal user?
Notice that only Mandrake Linux 8.0 allows 'urpmi' to
be executed by a normal user. In order to be allowed to use 'urpmi' in 8.0,
you have to be member of the 'urpmi' group. Add your user name to the appropriate
line in '/etc/groups'. You have to be root in order to do that.
'urpme' is only to be executed by 'root'. 'urpmi' will only work for 'root'
when installing single RPMs from directories unknown to 'urpmi'.
... a dependency is fulfilled by a self-compiled file
only?
RPM only checks its own database for resolving dependencies,
not the actual system. So even if you have all the dependencies fulfilled
by self-compiled packages, RPM will fail the dependency check. (Actually,
I've heard newer versions of RPM do check the actual install base and not
only their data base. I'm not sure, though.)
There are two workarounds for this problem:
-
Create a file in '/etc' called 'rpmrc' and add to
this file an entry like this:
Provides: file
file is the name of the self-compiled
file (e.g. 'libguile.so.2'). This works because RPM's dependency system works
on the basis of files, not packages. An entry like this let's RPM assume
that this dependency is fulfilled, even if this file isn't listed in its
data base.
-
You can tell RPM to ignore dependencies by using:
rpm -i --nodeps package
However, this will ignore all dependencies,
so you should besure that all of them are fulfilled. It
is very easy to break your RPM data base when using '--nodeps' (or even '--force').
There are absolutely no normal circumstances whatsoever which require
the use of these options. Personally, I haven't used these in years.
... rebuilding an SRPM fails right away with no
such file or directory?
Install the 'rpm-build' package from the Mandrake Linux
CD and try again.
... rebuilding an SRPM from Cooker fails with fg:
no job control?
To build or rebuild RPMs, command macros ('/usr/lib/rpm/[arch-]mandrake-linux/macros')
are used. From time to time, new macros are introduced. If a spec file contains
a call to a macro which is not listed in the current 'macros' file, the shell
will try to interpret this macro and inevitably fail with the above error
message.
The most straightforward solution to this problem is
upgrading to the latest RPM version on Cooker (I don't know if just replacing
the 'macros' files would do, experiences anyone?). Another would be editing
the spec file in '/usr/src/RPM/SPECS' to edit the offending macro. This however
might result in the creation of a broken RPM.
section index top
 'rpmdrake' Troubleshooting
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