Linux Operations and Administration Chapter Nine Installing Software Packages

Linux Operations and Administration

Chapter NineInstalling Software Packages


Objectives

• Manage software packages with the RPM utility

• Handle RPM software dependencies

• Install, upgrade, and remove software at the command line

• Add remote software repositories in openSUSE

• Work with software packages in YaST Software Manager

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Working with RPM Software Packages

• Software packages for Linux and UNIX used to be available in compressed tar archives called tarballs or in cpio (copy in/out) format

• Problems– These formats had no features for upgrading or

uninstalling software– Installation was tedious

• Package management utilities developed to address these shortcomings

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Working with RPM Software Packages (cont’d.)

• RPM Package Manager (RPM)– Used to install and manage software packages

• Software package– An archive of related files, such as configuration,

data, and documentation files, constituting a software application

– Has a label containing metadata• Metadata is descriptive information, such as name,

version, size, and description of its contents

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• RPM utility– Open-source software licensed under the GPL– Many Linux distributions, including openSUSE, have

it installed already– Can be used on many OSs, such as OS/2, Solaris,

AIX, Sun OS, IRIX, UNIX, and several Linux distributions

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• RPM– Used to build, install, query, verify, update, and

uninstall software packages in Linux– Can also be used to package a software application

in source code or binary form

• RPM package– Contains an archive of:

• Files

• Package details: such as name, version, and description

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• Packages built with RPM have some advantages:– Upgrading– Uninstalling– Verification– Querying

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The RPM Utility

• rpm command can be used in one of the following modes: – Querying

• Can be done by any user

– Installing, upgrading, and removing• Can be done only by the root user

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The RPM Utility (cont’d.)

• You might have to specify:– Package name– Source RPM name– Package file

• Table 9-1– Describes common options used with this command

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The RPM Utility (cont’d.)

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Table 9-1 Common rpm options


Querying Packages

• Querying with rpm command– Gives package details from the RPM database

• -q option– Used to run a query– Used to determine version and release information

for software packages

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Installing Packages

• RPM packages have an .rpm extension and filenaming conventions

• Example: OpenOffice_org-writer-3.1.1.4-1.2.3.i586.rpm

– Name• Describes the software

• “OpenOffice_org-writer” in the example

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Installing Packages (cont’d.)

– Version• Indicates the package’s version number

• 3.1.1.4 in the example

– Release• Software release number

• 1.2.3 in the example

– Architecture• Specifies the architecture (the type of hardware the

package is meant to run on)

• i586 in the example

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• Example– F-Spot package (version 0.6.1.5, release 1.1.1 for

i586 hardware) installed with -i, -v, and -h options

– Second and third lines show some of command’s output

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• Functions performed by RPM utility during installation:– Dependency checks– Preinstallation tasks– Conflicts– Unpacking– Postinstallation tasks– Storage

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Upgrading Packages

• Upgrading packages with the RPM utility– Similar to installing them, but you use the -U option

• Syntax example:rpm -U install-options package–filename

• Example where a software package is upgraded

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Upgrading Packages (cont’d.)

• Smart update– RPM retains previous version’s configuration file

• –U option also works well when no previous version of the package is on the system– It simply installs the package instead of performing

an upgrade

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• -F (freshen) option– Also used to upgrade software packages– Can be used with a group of packages

• Especially useful if you have downloaded several packages and want to upgrade only the ones already installed

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• Example showing use of -F option when a previous version doesn’t exist:

– Package wasn’t installed because no older version was in place

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• Example showing use of -F option to upgrade an existing package:

• Command to upgrade only the packages for which an older version is already installed:# rpm –Fvh *.rpm

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Uninstalling Packages

• RPM makes uninstalling packages fast and easy

• Use -e option in this format:rpm -e package–name

• You don’t have to specify package’s full name– Example:rpm -q f-spotf-spot-0.6.1.5-1.2.1.i586rpm -e f-spot

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Uninstalling Packages (cont’d.)

• Activity 9-1: Using the RPM Utility– Download an RPM package and install, delete, and

upgrade it

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RPM Dependencies

• RPM dependencies feature– Determines whether a software package depends on

another application to run– Indicates what capabilities an installed package

provides to other applications

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RPM Dependencies (cont’d.)

• RPM dependencies feature useful in:– Trying to delete a package that’s providing

capabilities to another application

– Installing a software package that requires the capabilities of another application

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• RPM “dependency loop”– Solution: a front-end package manager

• Provides a user interface to make package management more user friendly

• Table 9-2– Describes a few widely used front-end package

managers

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Table 9-2 Front-end package managers


Working with Software Packages in OpenSUSE

• After openSUSE is installed: – Software packages are installed– Repositories used to install or update packages are

installed

• Repository– A storage location for software packages– Usually a Web server, but can also be on the local

system

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Working with Software Packages in OpenSUSE (cont’d.)

• Software in openSUSE is indexed

• You can search for software by using patterns– Patterns are collections of packages that define a

type of function• Such as server packages

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The yast Command

• Can be used to configure:– Hardware– Network connections and clients– Services– General system options

• Such as language, partitioning, and boot loaders

• Table 9-3– Describes some common options used with yast

command

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The yast Command (cont’d.)

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Table 9-3 Common yast options


The yast Command (cont’d.)

• Activity 9-2: Using the yast Command– Use the yast command to install and remove a

package

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Software Repositories

• openSUSE Configured Software Repositories tool– Another resource for working with software

packages– To open:

• Use yast --gtk command as the root user

• Click Software Repositories icon

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Software Repositories (cont’d.)

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Figure 9-1 The Configured Software Repositories tool© Cengage Learning 2013



• If yast command is used to install software that can’t be located in one of the repositories:– Error similar to Figure 9-2 is shown– To prevent this problem:

• Use Configured Software Repositories tool to add software repositories

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Figure 9-2 An install error© Cengage Learning 2013



• Three types of software repositories for version 11.2 that are available automatically:– OSS (Open Source Software)

http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.2/repo/oss/

– NON-OSS (Not Open Source Software)http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.2/repo/non-oss/

– Update (official security and bug-fix updates)http://download.opensuse.org/update/11.2/

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• Table 9-4– Describes some common repositories that are

available for download

• Activity 9-3: Using a Third-Party Software Repository– Add a third-party software repository to your list of

trusted repositories

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YaST Software Manager

• OpenSUSE has a graphical utility for installing, updating, and removing software

• To open Software Manager– On a KDE machine

• Click the Kickoff Application Launcher button

• Click the Applications tab

• Click System

• Click YaST

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YaST Software Manager (cont’d.)

• Another method to open Software Manager– Issue yast --gtk command (logged in as root)– Click Software Management icon

• Buttons at the top of Software Manager window– Available

• Displays packages that can be installed based on existing repositories

– Upgrades• Displays packages for which newer versions are

available

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Figure 9-3 YaST Software Manager© Cengage Learning 2013



– Installed• Displays all packages installed on your system

– All• Displays the combined results of the Available,

Upgrades, and Installed lists

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• Filter list box has the following selections:– Groups

• Displays software packages by category, such as Admin Tools or Education

– Patterns• Lists packages grouped by function, such as Base

Technologies or Graphical Environments

– Languages• Contains all language package files

– Repositories• Filters packages based on the repository to which they

belong

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• Search field– You can enter the name of a software package to

see the RPM name and a summary of its attributes

• Activity 9-4: Working with the YaST Software Manager– Use the YaST Software Manager to install, upgrade,

and remove packages

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Summary

• RPM Package Manager (RPM)– A utility used to install and manage software

packages

• Software package– An archive of related files constituting a software

application

• RPM packages have several advantages over traditional packages

• rpm command is used to query the RPM database and install, remove, and upgrade packages

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Summary (cont’d.)

• RPM dependencies feature– Determines whether a package relies on another

application to run

• Software repositories– Storage locations for software packages

• YaST Software Manager– An easy-to-use GUI package manager

• yast command– Used to install, update, and uninstall software

packages along with their dependencies

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Documents

Linux Operations and Administration Chapter Nine Installing Software Packages