Re: How to build rpm to point to unique config files, macros, and db

[Jeff Johnson <n3npq nc rr com>]

Dennis McRitchie wrote:

> It would seem that incipient brain-rot caused me to write the silly first
> para in my previous post. I was conflating two unrelated parts of the
> project. What we are actually trying to do - that relates to this post - is
> to create multiple mounted file systems (one for RH 9, one for Solaris 8,
> etc.) with standard sets of installed packages on them for use by our user
> community. To install these packages on the mounted file systems, I would
> like to have builds of the rpm program (one per OS) that point to a unique
> "rpmrc" and "macros" files, as well as to a unique rpm DB, by *default*. I
> would prefer not to have to use --rcfile.
>
> I have been unsuccessful so far in figuring out how rpm knows where to look
> for its config files and db. Any pointers would be very much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>       Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rpm-list-admin@redhat.com [mailto:rpm-list-admin@redhat.com]On
> Behalf Of Dennis McRitchie
> Sent: Friday, August 29, 2003 4:36 PM
> To: rpm-list@redhat.com
> Subject: How to build rpm to point to unique config files, macros, and
> db
>
>
> Hi,
>
> We are in the process of developing a repository of rpm packages for
> multiple OSs. Each OS's repository will be NFS-mountable from any user's
> machine running that OS, and users must then be able to execute the instance
> of rpm residing in that repository to install any of the packages recorded
> in that rpm instance's db.
>
> Aside from the need to build (and adapt) rpm for each OS, and (for non-Linux
> OSs) to populate the rpm db with the OS-provided packages, I am having
> difficulty in figuring out how rpm determines the location of its master
> rpmrc file (usually in /usr/lib), and the location of its db.
>
> As a test, I built rpm under Linux using the sources within the 4.2 src rpm
> file. I mimicked what the rpm.spec file does in terms of passing arguments
> to "configure", amending them to point to the real install target within my
> repository. I then executed "make" and "make install", and everything went
> where it should, including the normal contents of "/usr/bin", /usr/lib" and
> /usr/lib/rpm".
>
> However, when I execute that instance of rpm using "rpm --showrc" it is
> still looking in /usr/lib to find its rpmrc file. (It also still points to
> /usr/lib/rpm/macros and to the /etc directory on the "macrofiles" line, but
> I can edit that manually if need be.)
>
> What do I need to do to get rpm to look at "/<my-repository>/lib/rpmrc" by
> default instead of /usr/lib/rpmrc?
>  

--rcfile only way, "default" is compiled in strings, overrdden with 
--rcfile rpmrc1:rpmrc2:...
Yes, colon seperated paths to multiple rpmrc files, only the 1st of 
which must exist.

> And can I assume that once I get it to do that, that it will also look for
> its db in "/<my-repository>/lib/rpm"?
>  

Add --dbpath to override, better might be to add --root  wich will be 
used as prefix to
/var/lib/rpm.

Something like shell wrappers is best way. Say "solrpm" is script to manage
your solaris tree mounted at /sol, conatins

   #!/bin/sh
   root=/sol
   rcpath="$root/usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc:$root/etc/rpmrc"

   exec rpm --rcfile $rcpath --root $root $*

Note: you will need to exec something other than /sol/bin/sh if managing 
sparc tree on non-sparc,
but you'll need to figger arch/os matches first too.

73 de Jeff