rpm-guide rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml,1.1,1.2
Stuart Ellis (elliss)
fedora-docs-commits at redhat.com
Mon Oct 24 20:34:36 UTC 2005
Author: elliss
Update of /cvs/docs/rpm-guide
In directory cvs-int.fedora.redhat.com:/tmp/cvs-serv32657
Modified Files:
rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml
Log Message:
Tagging and trivial edits
Index: rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/docs/rpm-guide/rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.1
retrieving revision 1.2
diff -u -r1.1 -r1.2
--- rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml 4 Oct 2005 01:52:28 -0000 1.1
+++ rpm-guide-intro-packaging-en.xml 24 Oct 2005 20:34:34 -0000 1.2
@@ -1,30 +1,27 @@
<!-- $Id: -->
-<preface id="ch-intro-packaging">
-<title>Introducing Package Management</title>
-
- <para>
- Copyright (c) 2005 by Eric Foster-Johnson. This material may be
- distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in
- the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later (the latest version is
- presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/).
- </para>
-
- <para>
- In This Chapter
- </para>
-
- <para>
- *Issues in software management
- </para>
-
- <para>
- *Examining Linux management tools
- </para>
+<preface id="ch-intro-packaging">
+ <title>Introducing Package Management</title>
<para>
- *Introducing the package concept
+ This chapter covers:
</para>
-
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Issues in software management
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Examining Linux management tools
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Introducing the package concept
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
<para>
In 1991, a young Finnish graduate student started a new personal
hobby. He had acquired an Intel 386 computer and had spent a few
@@ -35,16 +32,14 @@
exploring Minix, a feature-limited teaching operating system, he
decided he needed a full-featured OS.
</para>
-
<para>
At that time, no full-featured PC operating systems were freely
available, so he decided to write his own operating system. Today,
that small hobby OS that Linus Torvalds started almost as a whim has
- become Linux (www.linux.com), a significant new variant of Unix that
- runs millions of the world's network servers and, increasingly,
- desktop computers and embedded processors.
+ become Linux, a significant new variant of Unix that runs millions
+ of the world's network servers and, increasingly, desktop computers
+ and embedded processors.
</para>
-
<para>
Linux has grown up, successfully making the transition from a
one-man personal project to a functional, full-featured operating
@@ -57,7 +52,6 @@
other installed packages? And how can you safely upgrade packages?
Answering these questions is what this book is all about.
</para>
-
<sect1>
<title>Installing, Removing, and Upgrading Applications</title>
<para>
@@ -104,14 +98,14 @@
distributed as source code. To install a new application, such as
the Apache Web server, you download the source code for that
application—in this case, from the Apache Project's Web page
- (http://httpd.apache.org). Typically, the source code is provided
- in some sort of archive (such as the Zip archival and compression
- format often used in the Windows world or the tar archive format
- typically used in the Unix world) that you must then unpack. After
- unpacking this source code, you have to configure it to support
- the options and systems you want, compiling it to produce an
- executable program that can run on your particular operating
- system (CPU combination).
+ (<ulink url="http://httpd.apache.org"/>). Typically, the source
+ code is provided in some sort of archive (such as the Zip archival
+ and compression format often used in the Windows world or the tar
+ archive format typically used in the Unix world) that you must
+ then unpack. After unpacking this source code, you have to
+ configure it to support the options and systems you want,
+ compiling it to produce an executable program that can run on your
+ particular operating system (CPU combination).
</para>
<para>
After compiling the source code, you still have to install the
@@ -171,19 +165,18 @@
is.
</para>
</sect1>
-
<sect1>
<title>Overcoming the Installation Obstacles</title>
<para>
None of the tasks you must perform to install, upgrade, or
uninstall applications are especially difficult. However, these
steps quickly become daunting when you consider all the files that
- must be managed. A full Red Hat Linux 7.3 installation provides
- around 3,000 executable commands and over 160,000 total files
- (some other Linux distributions are even larger!). Obviously,
- managing all these files by hand, although theoretically possible,
- is not technically feasible. On a smaller scale, even management
- of single applications is not practical. The Postfix e-mail server
+ must be managed. A full &RHL; 7.3 installation provides around
+ 3,000 executable commands and over 160,000 total files (some other
+ Linux distributions are even larger!). Obviously, managing all
+ these files by hand, although theoretically possible, is not
+ technically feasible. On a smaller scale, even management of
+ single applications is not practical. The Postfix e-mail server
application, for example, consists of around 275 files scattered
in a dozen or so different directories. Imagine trying to remember
and manually remove all of those files (and only those files) to
@@ -219,13 +212,14 @@
perform the upgrade. Otherwise, the software must be manually
upgraded using the procedure described previously.
</para>
- <para>
- Note
- </para>
- <para>
- Current versions of Windows, such as Windows XP, though, have a
- central database of installed applications.
- </para>
+ <note>
+ <title>Current Windows Versions</title>
+
+ <para>
+ Current versions of Windows, such as Windows XP, have a
+ central database of installed applications.
+ </para>
+ </note>
</sect2>
<sect2>
<title>Built-in system utilities</title>
@@ -297,12 +291,13 @@
and permissions. This single archive file can then be
transferred to other machines, where a System V
software-management command can be used to install it. This
- System V installation command (typically called pkgadd) unpacks
- the archive, copies the files into their final destinations
- based on the enclosed listing, and sets permissions and
- ownerships on the files as specified by the listing. Finally,
- this pkgadd command registers the list of freshly installed
- files into a system-wide database of installed files.
+ System V installation command (typically called
+ <command>pkgadd</command>) unpacks the archive, copies the files
+ into their final destinations based on the enclosed listing, and
+ sets permissions and ownerships on the files as specified by the
+ listing. Finally, this <command>pkgadd</command> command
+ registers the list of freshly installed files into a system-wide
+ database of installed files.
</para>
<para>
Such a system offers several advantages over manual software
@@ -317,7 +312,6 @@
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
-
<sect1>
<title>Linux Software Management Tools: Packages</title>
<para>
@@ -334,24 +328,26 @@
used by various distributions.
</para>
<para>
- The Gentoo Linux (www.gentoo.org) distribution, for example, uses
- a software-management system called Portage, which is very similar
- to the FreeBSD ports system. Like ports, Portage provides great
- control over software compilation and installation, providing a
- collection of scripts that automate much of the basic work of
- downloading and compiling software.
+ The Gentoo Linux (<ulink url="http://www.gentoo.org/"/>)
+ distribution, for example, uses a software-management system
+ called Portage, which is very similar to the FreeBSD ports system.
+ Like ports, Portage provides great control over software
+ compilation and installation, providing a collection of scripts
+ that automate much of the basic work of downloading and compiling
+ software.
</para>
<para>
At the other end of the spectrum, the now-defunct deepLinux
- distribution used a software-management system called deep-package
- (still available from
- www2.cddc.vt.edu/linux/distributions/deeplinux/tools. deep-package
- was intended to be a complete reimplementation of the Solaris
- pkgadd utility and its helpers. Like the Solaris pkgadd software,
- deep-package paid no attention to half of the question of how to
- manage software, focusing entirely on software installation and
- tracking issues while entirely ignoring the initial compilation of
- the software.
+ distribution used a software-management system called
+ <command>deep-package</command> (still available from
+ <ulink url="http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/linux/distributions/deeplinux/tools"/>).
+ <command>deep-package</command> was intended to be a complete
+ reimplementation of the Solaris <command>pkgadd</command> utility
+ and its helpers. Like the Solaris <command>pkgadd</command>
+ software, <command>deep-package</command> paid no attention to
+ half of the question of how to manage software, focusing entirely
+ on software installation and tracking issues while entirely
+ ignoring the initial compilation of the software.
</para>
<para>
More typically, however, Linux software-management tools use an
@@ -383,7 +379,7 @@
software.
</para>
<para>
- In the case of my full Red Hat Linux 7.3 installation, this
+ In the case of a full &RHL; 7.3 installation, this
package-management software maintains a database of information
regarding all 160,000 files on the system; as applications are
installed on the system, this database is updated with information
@@ -402,23 +398,24 @@
focuses on one of these tools, the RPM Package Management
software, or RPM.
</para>
+ <note>
+ <title>Change of Name</title>
+<!-- SE: Don't replace "Red Hat" with an entity here: we don't want the text to change -->
+ <para>
+ RPM was originally called Red Hat Package Manager. After
+ adoption by other Linux distributions, the name has changed to
+ simply the RPM Package Manager. The RPM initials remain the
+ same.
+ </para>
+ </note>
<para>
- Note
- </para>
- <para>
- RPM was originally called Red Hat Package Manager. After adoption
- by other Linux distributions, the name has changed to simply the
- RPM Package Manager. The RPM initials remain the same.
- </para>
- <para>
- As the original name implies, RPM was developed by Red Hat, Inc.,
+ As the original name implies, RPM was developed by &FORMAL-RHI;,
the major Linux distributor in the United States. Even though the
- original name seems to point to a Red Hat-only solution, most
- Linux distributions use the RPM software. The RPM software
- provides a foundation needed by Linux system administrators
- throughout the world. You can even use RPM on other operating
- systems, both Linux and non-Linux, as covered in Chapters 19 and
- 20, respectively.
+ original name seems to point to a &RH;-only solution, most Linux
+ distributions use the RPM software. The RPM software provides a
+ foundation needed by Linux system administrators throughout the
+ world. You can even use RPM on other operating systems, both Linux
+ and non-Linux, as covered in Chapters 19 and 20, respectively.
</para>
<para>
The RPM system provides all of the features needed to manage
@@ -432,50 +429,69 @@
with RPM packages and the commands you need to work with the RPM
system:
</para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 2 provides an overview of the RPM system, exploring what
- it was designed for and where it has weaknesses.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 3 discusses the technical details of how the RPM system
- works, where the database of packages gets stored, and what
- commands should be available for working with RPM packages.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 4 continues the discussion by covering the three major
- tasks you need to perform with RPM packages: installing software,
- removing software, and upgrading software you have already
- installed.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 5 covers the RPM database, how it works, where it
- resides, and how you can use it to better manage your system.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 6 delves into package dependencies, a very important
- concept. Most major applications depend on a number of other
- packages. Sometimes these dependencies get very complex, with one
- package depending on particular versions of other packages. With
- thousands of packages on your system, this can lead to a big mess.
- Chapter 6 helps you sort through the issues.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 7 covers the important issue of transactions, so that you
- can ensure your system gets updated in an orderly manner and so
- that you can roll back changes if something does not work out.
- </para>
- <para>
- *Chapter 8 introduces a host of tools that can help you find RPM
- packages as well as manage the packages on your system. This
- includes graphical interfaces on top of the RPM system and special
- Internet search sites devoted just to RPM packages.
- </para>
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 2 provides an overview of the RPM system, exploring
+ what it was designed for and where it has weaknesses.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 3 discusses the technical details of how the RPM
+ system works, where the database of packages gets stored, and
+ what commands should be available for working with RPM
+ packages.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 4 continues the discussion by covering the three major
+ tasks you need to perform with RPM packages: installing
+ software, removing software, and upgrading software you have
+ already installed.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 5 covers the RPM database, how it works, where it
+ resides, and how you can use it to better manage your system.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 6 delves into package dependencies, a very important
+ concept. Most major applications depend on a number of other
+ packages. Sometimes these dependencies get very complex, with
+ one package depending on particular versions of other
+ packages. With thousands of packages on your system, this can
+ lead to a big mess. Chapter 6 helps you sort through the
+ issues.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 7 covers the important issue of transactions, so that
+ you can ensure your system gets updated in an orderly manner
+ and so that you can roll back changes if something does not
+ work out.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Chapter 8 introduces a host of tools that can help you find
+ RPM packages as well as manage the packages on your system.
+ This includes graphical interfaces on top of the RPM system
+ and special Internet search sites devoted just to RPM
+ packages.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
<para>
Later chapters cover creating RPM packages, programming with RPM,
and extending the functionality provided by the base RPM system.
</para>
</sect1>
-
<sect1>
<title>Summary</title>
<para>
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