Packages in Linuxspeak are the software features or applications which can be installed
during or after the main operating system installation.
Red Hat has its own format for add-ins, called the RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) which is also used by Mandrake Linux.
The RPM system comprises a central database withing the operating system of all installed software.
The database remembers what is installed, what version it is and where it's all kept, including program dependencies.
This makes Linux much more efficient than say MS Windows, where new programs can overwrite certain Windows .dll files causing other applications which
depended on the previous dll version not to work properly.
To configure an RPM in Linux, change to the directory containing the .rpm file and use the following syntaxes...
To install an rpm, type: rpm -ivh filename.rpm
(i = install, v = verbose mode, h = hash # progress symbols)
To remove a package, type: rpm -e filename.rpm (-e = erase)
To query a package, type : rpm -q filename.rpm (-q = query)
To upgrade an existing rpm package, type: rpm -Uvh filename.rpm
(U = upgrade)
Watch the case sensitivity - that is a capital U!
- A.
