In this format, the description of the package and all its files marked by type are clearly visible. In some respects, it is easier to use than the command-line queries.
Installing and Using the xrpm Client
Another graphical X11 package management utility similar to glint is xrpm. Its interface is slightly different, but it provides many powerful features not found in glint.
Once the rpm version is downloaded, installation is as follows:
# rpm -ivvh xrpm-2.1-2.i386.rpm
Want the latest version of xrpm?
xrpm is freely available from http://www.gmsys.com/xrpm.html. It is distributed in both rpm and tar.gz formats. As of this writing, the newest version is 2.1-2.
Installation of the tar.gz distribution is slightly more complicated; complete instructions are given on the xrpm web page mentioned earlier.
Once installed, xrpm can be invoked from the command line of an X11 terminal window by typing the following:
# xrpm
This brings up the xrpm main window, shown in Figure 30.7.
Figure 30.7 Main window of xrpm.
The main window of xrpm contains a list of all installed packages at the left and the following buttons at the right:
• Query—Queries a package and outputs the results into a window (see Figure 30.8).
Figure 30.8 Results of a package query in xrpm.
• List Files—Lists the files in a given package in a separate window.
• Remove—Removes an installed package.
• Install—Installs a selected package.
• Exit—Exits xrpm.
When xrpm first starts up, all the buttons except Install are active. Take a look at the functionality of each of these buttons.
In xrpm, to execute a query on a package, simply click on a package name in the list and then click on the Query button. The resulting query is slightly different than glint—the files included in the package are not listed. An example of a package query is given in Figure 30.8.
To list the files in a package, click on a package name in the list and then click on the List Files button. This action produces a list of files in the selected package. The listing is slightly different than glint, because it does not include extra information about the files.
To remove a package, simply click on a package and then click on the Remove button. This action brings up the Remove RPM window shown in Figure 30.9. To remove the package you selected, click on the Remove button in this window. Any errors encountered during removal are reported in separate windows. To cancel the removal, click on the Close button. The Options button gives access to some of the more advanced options, which are not usually required.
Figure 30.9 Remove RPM window in xrpm.
xrpm also provides the ability to list packages by their groups. For example, to list all the packages installed in the Applications group, select the Applications menu item from the Groups menu. A new list appears, listing each package’s subgroup, as shown in Figure 30.10.
Figure 30.10 Application group listing in xrpm.
To restore the full list of all installed packages, select List Installed from the File menu.
To install a new package using xrpm, simply select a location containing rpm files. This location can be on either the local machine or an ftp site. To install packages from the local machine, select Open Directory from the File menu. This brings up a dialog box, shown in Figure 30.11, from which a directory containing rpms can be selected.
Figure 30.11 Selecting a directory containing rpms in xrpm.
After a directory has been selected, the list in the main xrpm window changes to a list of all the available rpms for installation in that directory. At this point, the Install button becomes active and the Remove button becomes inactive. Figure 30.12 shows all the available rpms on the Red Hat Power Tools CD-ROM.
Figure 30.12 Available rpms for installation.
To install a package, click on the package and then click on the Install button, which brings up the Install RPM window (shown in Figure 30.13). To install the selected package, click on the Install button. This installs the package and reports any errors in a separate window. To cancel the installation, click on the Close button. As in the Remove RPMS window, the Options button gives access to several advanced options, which are not usually needed.