Re: rpm

[Rick Stevens <rstevens vitalstream com>]

Kurt B. Kaiser wrote:

> rstevens vitalstream com (Rick Stevens) writes:
> > "-i" installs an RPM.  Just what is contained IN the RPM is up to the
> > RPM distributor.  As far as RPM is concerned, an RPM is an RPM is an
> > RPM.  There is no internal difference.
>
> Technically this concept has some merit.  However, I think that people need to
> be clear that "installing" a .src.rpm does not provide any executables that
> they can use, nor does it update the RPM database. The RPM system uses the word
> "install" in three different ways, which doesn't help at all.
>
> Earlier you said, "There is no difference between source and binary RPMs except
> for the files contained in them and possibly pre- and post-install scripts."
> That is true regarding the architecture of the RPM file itself.  But from the
> point of view of the user, especially a new user, there is a big difference:
> "installing" the .src.rpm doesn't install a usable package on his system.


I see your point.  I was simply stressing that rpm has no knowledge
(nor does it care) just WHAT the RPM is.  Yes, you're right in the
concept that a ".src.rpm" contains source and no executables (well,
it may even then), but ".src.rpm" is simply a naming convention
adopted by RedHat back in the day.  I could come up with my own
convention and say that ".rpm" denotes a source RPM and a binary will
be named ".bin.rpm".  A rose by any other name...

And remember that a number of "binary" RPMs actually contain source
code which is compiled when the RPM is installed.  A similar example
would be the kernel RPMs RedHat puts out.  These RPMs do NOT have an
initrd (ramdisk) image in them.  When they're installed, they run
mkinitrd and build a customized ramdisk image for the machine they're
being installed on.

I think we're getting away from what my initial reply to the thread
was, and that was a correction to the "-i is only valid for binary
RPMs" statement.  "-i" works for all RPMs unless there's a dependency,
file conflict or versioning issue.

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- Rick Stevens, SSE, VitalStream, Inc.      rstevens vitalstream com -
- 949-743-2010 (Voice)                    http://www.vitalstream.com -
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-          Consciousness: that annoying time between naps.           -
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