Using Linux:Managing Applications






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If a package is verified correctly, rpm does not output anything. If rpm detects a difference between the installed package and the database record, it outputs an 8-character string in which tests that fail are represented by a single character, and tests that pass are represented by a period (.). The characters for failed tests are listed in Table 30.3.
TABLE 30.3 Characters for failed verification tests



Letter
Failed Test



5
MD5 Sum

S
File Size

L
Symlink

T
Mtime

D
Device

U
User

G
Group

M
Mode (permissions and file type)



For example, on my system, verifying the bash package using # rpm -V bash fails:


.M..L... /bin/bash
....L... /bin/sh


This indicates that the size of my bash is different from the information stored in the database. This is okay on my system because I have recompiled bash.
In addition, it is possible to use the query option -f to verify a package containing a particular file, which is helpful when diagnosing problems with programs:


# rpm -Vf /bin/ksh


If ksh were behaving peculiarly, the preceding line would verify the package that ksh came in. If any of the tests fail, at the very least you will be closer to understanding the source of the problems.
Using Red Hat’s X11 glint Client to Manage rpm Packages

The most common way most users interact with rpm is via glint, the graphical Linux installation tool. glint is an X-based interface for rpm that allows for installing, uninstalling, querying, and verifying packages via a graphical File Manager interface.
glint is accessible from the command line or the Control Panel application that comes with Red Hat Linux. You must be the root operator, or must use the su command to run glint. glint can also be accessed from the command line of a terminal window by simply typing the following at the prompt:


# glint


glint accepts no command-line options. When glint is loading, a message such as the following appears in the terminal window:


Glint Graphical Package Manager -- version 2.1.5 Copyright 1996 Red
Hat Software
This may be freely redistributed under the terms of the GNU Public License


After glint has loaded, a window similar to Figure 30.1 appears.

Figure 30.1  The primary glint window displays folders of installed software packages.


SEE ALSO

•  For more information about the X Window System, see page 260.
•  To learn more about how to begin a superuser, and using the su command with Linux, see page 5.



The folders displayed in this window correspond to different groups or classes of packages. In each group, there can be subgroups as well, which are represented as folders within folders. Any files displayed in the folders represent the currently installed packages of a particular group. These are the main groups into which packages can be installed:


•  Applications
•  Base
•  Daemons
•  Development
•  Documentation
•  Games
•  Libraries
•  Networking
•  Shells
•  Utilities
•  X11

From the main glint window, different packages can be selected and queried, verified, uninstalled, or installed. When you click the Available button, all packages available for installation from the default location (/mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS) are listed in a separate window similar to Figure 30.2.

Figure 30.2  The Available Packages glint window shows software on your Red Hat CD-ROM that has not yet been installed on your system.

By navigating through the folders, you can select and install different packages. As an example, let’s take a look at installing the vim package.
Installing the vim Package with the glint Client


1.  To install the vim package, first log on as the root operator, and then launch glint from the command line of a terminal window:


# glint &


2.  Insert and mount your Red Hat CD-ROM. When glint’s Installed Packages window appears, click the Available button.
3.  After a short period of your CD-ROM’s disk activity, the Available Packages window appears. Select the Applications folder and then the Editors folder.
4.  Click the package vim-4.5-2, which becomes highlighted (see Figure 30.3).

Figure 30.3  Available Packages with vim selected.

5.  When a package is highlighted, it can be installed by clicking the Install button. You can install many packages at once by highlighting more than one package.
6.  When you click the Install button, the Installing dialog box appears (see Figure 30.4). This dialog box shows the progress of the installation.

Figure 30.4  The Installing dialog box shows the progress of package installation.
After vim has been installed, it is removed from the Available Packages window.

In this example, I assumed that the available packages were stored in the default location mentioned earlier. Often that is not the case. You can change this location by clicking the Configure button and entering a different location where package files are located in the Changing dialog box (see Figure 30.5).


Figure 30.5  Changing the package location is a convenient way to install rpm packages from somewhere else besides CD-ROM.

glint also provides a nice front end for querying packages. glint executes most of the queries automatically and displays the results in a tabular form. For example, a query of the vim package looks similar to Figure 30.6.

Figure 30.6  Query of the vim package.




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