Chapter 8. Installing Software Using the RPM Package Manager
This
chapter explains the Red Hat
Package Manager (RPM), a tool that facilitates installing,
uninstalling, and upgrading software for your Red Hat Linux system.
The chapter explains how to use RPM to find the package associated
with an application and how to quickly and easily install the
package. It also explains how to use RPM to upgrade packages and
query the status of installed packages.
An RPM package (or
more simply, an RPM or a
package) is a file that contains executable
programs, scripts, documentation, and other files needed by an
application or software unit.
RPM packages are generally named using a
convention that lets you determine the name of the package, the
version of the software, the release number of the software, and the
system architecture for which the application is intended. Figure 8-1 shows how the components of a package name are
arranged.
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