(The latest version of this document is at http://www.milkywaygalaxy.freeservers.com. You may want to check there for changes).
Redhat RPM program is the key program to install Redhat Linux Source RPMs. There are more than 8000 Redhat application programs available on the internet in rpm source-code format. If you just install rpm program on other flavors of Unix like Solaris, AIX, Irix or HPUX, then you can very easily compile, build and install any of those 8000 application source RPMs.
RPM is the "gateway" to thousands of applications and programs, which are in source code rpm format.
Maintainence of application programs is extremely easy with RPM program. You can very easily remove, add and upgrade the application package from the system. Using RPM program you can query the system to find the list of packages installed and you can even list the files installed by a particular package. RPM program can also give the exact path locations of the files installed by a particular package.
The upgrades and updates can be automated using the rpm program and the Redhat Network support.
The redhat rpm program is extremely powerful, extremely easy to use and is the most popular packaging program in the world. Packaging programs on other Unix platforms like pkgadd, smitt are very primitive and are not as powerful as rpm program. And rpm program is very portable and works on most Unix operating systems.
The guidelines given here can be useful for setting up Debian package program deb on Solaris and other Unix flavors. GNU Debian Linux is another popular distribution and uses deb program which is similar to rpm program . You can use either rpm or deb program.
To install RPM program you need gcc and BerkeleyDB. First you should decide the version of Redhat Linux which you want to use. The versions of Redhat Linux are 7.1 (latest), 6.2, 5.x (old versions).
To build rpm package you need atleast BerkeleyDB and gcc compiler. It is very important that you MUST select proper versions of gcc, BerkeleyDB and RPM source based on whether you want to represent Redhat 7.1, Redhat 6.2 or 5.x. If you happen to have a Redhat Linux box then do -
bash$ rpm -qa | grep -i gcc bash$ rpm -qi gcc-2.96-81 bash$ rpm -qa | grep -i db3 bash$ rpm -qi db3-3.1.17-7 bash$ rpm -qa | grep -i rpm bash$ rpm -qi rpm-4.0.2-8
WARNING: If you do not use proper version numbers of gcc, db3 and rpm combinations then RPM program may not compile or work properly..
For example - to target Redhat Linux 7.1 on Solaris, you should use gcc version 2.96, Sleepycat Berkeley DB version 3.1.17 and RPM source version 4.0.2. Any other combination of versions WILL NOT work.
You can see the list of files and programs needed to build rpm. Login on linux box and:
bash$ rpm -qR rpm-4.0.2-8 gawk fileutils textutils mktemp popt glibc >= 2.1.92 db1 = 1.85 /bin/sh /bin/sh /sbin/ldconfig ld-linux.so.2 libbz2.so.1 libc.so.6 libdb-3.1.so libdb.so.2 libpopt.so.0 librpm.so.0 librpmbuild.so.0 librpmio.so.0 libz.so.1 /bin/sh libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.0) libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1) libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.1.3) libc.so.6(GLIBC_2.2) libdb.so.2(GLIBC_2.0) rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1 bash$ To see to which package gawk belongs to do: bash$ rpm -qif /usr/bin/gawk Name : gawk Relocations: (not relocateable) Version : 3.0.6 Vendor: Red Hat, Inc. Group : Applications/Text Source RPM: gawk-3.0.6-1.src.rpm
First, you need to install the Gnu C compiler gcc. You can use one of the following three sources:
If you downloaded Solaris/Unix package:
# su - root # man pkgadd # pkgadd -d gcc-sparc*.pkg
If you downloaded rpm package:
bash$ mkdir my_temp_build bash$ cd my_temp_build bash$ rpm2cpio gcc-*.src.rpm | cpio -dimv bash$ tar zxvf gcc*.tar.gz bash$ cd gcc-2.96 bash$ ./configure bash$ make
Second, you need to install the BerkeleyDB embedded database from http://www.sleepycat.com. RPM internally uses the embedded database BerkeleyDB to store the package information. You can use one of the following three sources:
If you downloaded source rpm or source tar.gz file:
bash$ mkdir my_temp_build bash$ cd my_temp_build bash$ rpm2cpio db3-3.1.17-7.src.rpm | cpio -dimv bash$ tar zxvf db3*.tar.gz bash$ cd db3-3.1.17 bash$ cd build_unix bash$ ../dist/configure --enable-compat185 bash$ make bash$ make install
If you downloaded Unix package:
# su - root # man pkgadd # pkgadd -d db-3*-sparc*.pkg
Download BerkeleyDB and gcc for Unix as given below:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for Solaris from:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for AIX from:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for SGI IRIX from:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for HPUX from:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for UnixWare from:
You can get gcc and BerkeleyDB for Apple Macintosh OS X (which is BSD Unix) from:
After building Berkeley DB3 and gcc, compile rpm program now. Get rpm source code from one of the following two sources:
If you downloaded rpm*.tar.gz file:
bash$ mkdir my_temp_build bash$ cd my_temp_build bash$ tar zxvf rpm*.tar.gz bash$ cd rpm-4.0.2 bash$ export LIBS='-L/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1/lib' bash$ export CPPFLAGS='-I/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1/include' bash$ ./configure bash$ make
If you downloaded rpm source code file follow the steps below. But you may need rpm2cpio program, which is packaged in rpm package. Get rpm package (may be old version like 3.0) from Unix packages .
bash$ mkdir my_temp_build bash$ cd my_temp_build bash$ rpm2cpio rpm-4.0.2-8.src.rpm | cpio -dimv bash$ tar zxvf rpm*.tar.gz bash$ cd rpm-4.0.2 bash$ export LIBS='-L/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1/lib' bash$ export CPPFLAGS='-I/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1/include' bash$ ./configure bash$ make
If you encounter any problem in compiling rpm program, you may have to do some minor corrections.
In case of Solaris 8 and rpm v4.0.2, I got these problems:
bash# ln -s /usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1.17/include /usr/include/db3 Or edit the file lib/db3.c and change #include <db3/db.h> to #include <db.h>
See also RPM-HOWTO document.
In its simplest form, RPM can be used to install, erase or upgrade packages:
bash# rpm -i foobar-1.0-1.i386.rpm ...(to install packages) bash# rpm -i ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/RPMS/foo-1.0-1.i386.rpm ...(to install package via ftp) bash# rpm -e foobar ...(to uninstall package) bash# rpm -U foobar-1.0-1.i386.rpm ...(to upgrade package) bash# rpm --help ...(to see help on rpm options) bash# man rpm ...(to read online manual page)
To build rpm packages
bash# rpm -i foobar*.src.rpm bash# cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS bash# rpm -ba foobar-1.0-1.spec To build in incremental steps, do: bash# rpm -bp foobar-1.0-1.spec ...( to do prep stage) bash# rpm --short-circuit -bc foobar-1.0-1.spec ...( to do build stage) bash# rpm --short-circuit -bi foobar-1.0-1.spec ...( to do install stage) bash# rpm -ba foobar-1.0-1.spec ... (to do binary and source package)
You can query the rpm database with these powerful commands:
bash$ rpm -qpl foobar-1.0-1.i386.rpm ....(list of files in a rpm package) bash$ rpm -ql foobar-1.0-1 ....(list of files from already installed package) bash$ rpm -qpR foobar-1.0-1.i386.rpm ....(list packages on which this package depends) bash$ rpm -qR foobar-1.0-1 ....(list packages on which this installed package depends) bash$ # rpm -q foo ...(print package name, version, and release number of package foo) foo-2.0-1 bash$ rpm -qa | less ....(list all the installed package) bash$ rpm -qa | grep -i kde ....(list all the installed package matching kde) bash$ rpm -qif /bin/ls ....(list the package which installed the file /bin/ls) To show the values RPM will use for all of the options that may be set in rpmrc files (/usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc, /etc/rpmrc, ~/.rpmrc ), type: bash$ rpm --showrc | less
Verifying a package compares information about files installed from a package with the same information from the original package. Among other things, verifying compares the size, MD5 sum, permissions, type, owner and group of each file.
The command rpm -V verifies a package. You can use any of the Package Selection Options listed for querying to specify the packages you wish to verify. A simple use is rpm -V foo which verifies that all the files in the foo package are as they were when they were originally installed. For example:
bash$ rpm -Vf /bin/vi ...(To verify a package containing particular file) bash$ rpm -Va ...(To verify ALL installed packages) bash$ rpm -Vp foo-1.0-1.i386.rpm ...(To verify an installed package against an RPM package file)
If everything verified properly there will be no output. If there are any discrepancies they will be displayed. The format of the output is a string of 8 characters, a possible "c" denoting a configuration file, and then the file name. Each of the 8 characters denotes the result of a comparison of one attribute of the file to the value of that attribute recorded in the RPM database. A single "." (period) means the test passed. The following characters denote failure of certain tests:
5 -- MD5 checksum
S -- File size
L -- Symbolic link
T -- File modification time
D -- Device
U -- User
G -- Group
M -- Mode (includes permissions and file type)
? -- Unreadable file
Once RPM program is installed, it is a gateway to thousands of RPM packages which can be easily installed on the system.
Prepare the rpm directories
bash# su - root bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/BUILD bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/RPMS/sparc64 bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/RPMS/noarch bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/SOURCES bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/SPECS bash# mkdir -p /usr/local/src/redhat/SRPMS
You may want to edit the rpmrc file. In case of solaris 8, I had to remove the -m64 option for gcc, since it was giving compile errors. To show the values, RPM will use for all of the options that may be set in rpmrc files (/usr/local/lib/rpm/rpmrc, /usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc, /etc/rpmrc, /.rpmrc ), type:
bash$ rpm --showrc | less
Before building rpms you need the following basic programs:
bash# mkdir $HOME/localtmp bash# cd $HOME/localtmp bash# gzip -d libtool*.tar.gz bash# tar -xvf libtool*.tar bash# ./configure --with-prefix=$HOME/localtmp bash# make; make install
bash# PATH=$HOME/localtmp/bin:$PATH bash# export PATH
There are few basic rpms which must be installed before any other rpm is installed. In this section, foundation rpms are listed which are found by using:
bash# rpm -qR <packagename> bash# rpm -qR textinfo bash# rpm -qR fileutils bash# rpm -qR setup
The foundation rpms in the order of dependency are as follows:
Second stage foundation rpms are as follows. After installing the foundation rpms, next important rpm is gcc, the order of rpms you need is:
Third stage rpms are as follows:
As from previous section you should have exported temp location of autoconf, gcc and other programs by:
bash# PATH=$HOME/localtmp/bin:$PATH bash# export PATH bash# rpm -i fileutils*.src.rpm bash# rpm -i zlib*.src.rpm bash# rpm -i texinfo*.src.rpm bash# cd /usr/local/src/redhat/SPECS bash# rpm -ba fileutils.spec
After the build is successful, install it with "nodeps and excludedocs" to minimize the failures. After substantial installations of many foundation rpms you can "freshen" the rpms with rpm command.
bash# cd /usr/local/src/redhat/RPMS/sparc64 bash# rpm -i --nodeps --excludedocs fileutils*.rpm
On Solaris 2.8, I encountered following problems which were fixed by correcting the spec file:
%define Rpmpath /usr/local
%define __spec_install_post %{Rpmpath}/lib/rpm/brp-strip \; %{Rpmpath}/lib/rpm/brp-strip-comment-note \; rm -f
%build
%define _mandir %{_prefix}/share/man
%define _infodir %{_prefix}/share/info
%configure
%install
#mkdir -p ${RPM_BUILD_ROOT}/{etc,sbin} .....this line is causing problems
mkdir -p ${RPM_BUILD_ROOT}/etc
mkdir -p ${RPM_BUILD_ROOT}/sbin
%files
# replace below line
#/usr/bin/*
# with the line given below
%{_prefix}/bin/*
%files
# replace below line
#/usr/bin/*
# with the line given below
%{_prefix}/bin/*
The GNU gcc rpm is the most important rpm package which you should create after successfully creating rpm of RPM package. In order to create GNU gcc rpm package, you need to install rpms, unix pkgs or manual configure and install the following (given in order of dependency) :
bash# mkdir $HOME/localtmp bash# cd $HOME/localtmp bash# gzip -d libtool*.tar.gz bash# tar -xvf libtool*.tar bash# ./configure --with-prefix=$HOME/localtmp bash# make; make install
bash# PATH=$HOME/localtmp/bin:$PATH bash# export PATH
Now you are ready to build gcc rpm:
bash# rpm -i gcc*.src.rpm bash# cd /usr/local/src/redhat/SPECS bash# rpm -ba gcc*.spec
solaris# cd /var/ld solaris# man ld.so.1 solaris# man crle solaris# crle < hit return to see config info> solaris# crle /usr/lib:/usr/local/lib:/usr/local/pgsql/lib:/usr/local/BerkeleyDB.3.1/lib
You can download the source code rpm for sparc from sparc-gcc or go to http://www.rpmfind.net and type sparc in the search field. You can also download sparc-glibc, sparc-kernel-headers and sparc-binutils source rpms.
solaris# rpm -i sparc-gcc*.src.rpm solaris# cd /usr/local/src/redhat/SPECS solaris# rpm -ba sparc-gcc.spec
The PowerPC arch rpms are at http://penguinppc.org.
If configure complains that your platform is not supported, then you may want to edit glibc.spec file and in %configure section put --enable-hacker-mode,
For Solaris there is ready-made sparc-glibc*.src.rpm from sparc-gcc or go to http://www.rpmfind.net and type sparc in the search field.
The glibc needs the sparc-kernel-headers*.rpm which you can get from sparc-gcc.
Debian Linux is another popular distribution. You can use the debian packages for Sparc, PowerPC, m68k, MIPS, Alpha, Arm, Intel X86 or Itanium.
To build real debs that contain software, you'll need: binutils, cpp, cpio, dpkg-dev, file, gcc, libc6-dev, make, patch, perl dh-make, debhelper, devscripts, fakeroot and lintian . If your package needs to prompt the user for configuration information when it installs, get debconf .
The main debian programs you need to get are:
Get these from http://www.debian.org/distrib/packages, go here and type in the search box dpkg-dev or apt-howto and select Stable, Testing or Unstable in the distribution. Download and build on your Unix system (Solaris, AIX, HPUX).
See Debian Package Management , Debian Policy Manual, Debian New Maintainer's Guide and apt+rpm howto.
To install Debian packages on Sun Solaris 2.8 (Sparc/Ultra-sparc) I downloaded all the debian packages for sparc from http://www.debian.org. Go here and click on distribution->sparc. Better still, purchase the Debian binary and source cdrom for Sparc (or for PowerPC, Alpha). Use alien program to convert the debian packages to redhat rpm.
Get alien program from http://www.rpmfind.net.
solaris# rpm -i alien*.src.rpm solaris# rpm -ba alien.spec solaris# rpm -i alien.sparc.rpm solaris# alien -r glibc*.deb (..... this will create the rpm file) solaris# rpm -i glibc-sparc*.rpm
Note alien program works only for binary debian packages.
After building and installing all the RPMs on Solaris (or any Unix), you can convert those programs to Solaris (or any Unix) packages.
To convert Redhat rpm to Solaris package do:
bash# mkdir -p $HOME/tmp/myprogram-1.4/usr/local bash# cd $HOME/tmp/myprogram-1.4/usr/local bash# rpm2cpio rpm-4.0.2-8.sparc64.rpm | cpio -dimv bash# tar -xvf rpm*.tar.gz bash# make_package
And run the perl script make_package given at
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This document is published in 14 different formats namely: DVI, Postscript, Latex, Adobe Acrobat PDF, LyX, GNU-info, HTML, RTF(Rich Text Format), Plain-text, Unix man pages, single HTML file, SGML (Linuxdoc format), SGML (Docbook format), and MS WinHelp format.
This howto document is located at:
You can also find this document at the following mirrors sites:
A single HTML file can be created with the command (see man sgml2html) - sgml2html -split 0 xxxxhowto.sgml
A PDF file can be generated from postscript file using either acrobat distill or Ghostscript. And a postscript file is generated from DVI which in turn is generated from a LaTex file. You can download distill software from http://www.adobe.com and from unix and from windows . Given below is a sample session:
bash$ man sgml2latex bash$ sgml2latex filename.sgml bash$ man dvips bash$ dvips -o filename.ps filename.dvi bash$ distill filename.ps bash$ man ghostscript bash$ man ps2pdf bash$ ps2pdf input.ps output.pdf bash$ acroread output.pdf &
This document is written in linuxdoc SGML format. The Docbook SGML format supercedes the linuxdoc format and has a lot more features than linuxdoc. The linuxdoc is very simple and easy to use. To convert linuxdoc SGML file to Docbook SGML use the program ld2db.sh and some Perl scripts. The ld2db output is not 100% clean and you need to use the clean_ld2db.pl Perl script. You may need to manually correct a few lines in the document.
bash$ ld2db.sh file-linuxdoc.sgml db.sgml
bash$ cleanup.pl db.sgml > db_clean.sgml
bash$ gvim db_clean.sgml
bash$ docbook2html db.sgml
You can convert the SGML howto document to a Microsoft Windows Help file, First convert the sgml to html using:
bash$ sgml2html xxxxhowto.sgml (to generate html file)
bash$ sgml2html -split 0 xxxxhowto.sgml (to generate a single page html file)
In order to view the document in dvi format, use the xdvi program. The xdvi program is located in tetex-xdvi*.rpm package in Redhat Linux which can be located through ControlPanel | Applications | Publishing | TeX menu buttons. To read a dvi document give the command:
xdvi -geometry 80x90 howto.dvi
man xdvi
You can read a postscript file using the program 'gv' (ghostview) or 'ghostscript'. The ghostscript program is in the ghostscript*.rpm package and the gv program is in the gv*.rpm package in Redhat Linux which can be located through ControlPanel | Applications | Graphics menu buttons. The gv program is much more user friendly than ghostscript. Also ghostscript and gv are available on other platforms like OS/2, Windows 95 and NT. You can view this document even on those platforms.
To read a postscript document give the command:
gv howto.ps
ghostscript howto.ps
You can read an HTML format document using Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet explorer, Redhat Baron Web browser or any of the 10 other web browsers.
You can read the latex, LyX output using LyX an X Window front end to LaTex.
To convert any HTML document to Linuxdoc SGML use the tool 'html2sgml' from http://www.abc.se/~m9339/prog/html2sgml.html.
Copyright policy is GNU/GPL as per LDP (Linux Documentation project). LDP is a GNU/GPL project. Additional restrictions are - you must retain the author's name, email address and this copyright notice on all the copies. If you make any changes or additions to this document then you should intimate all the authors of this document.