Otherwise, .rpmsave is used. In other words, .rpmorig results from updating from a
foreign format to RPM. .rpmsave results from updating from an older RPM to a newer
RPM. .rpmnew does not disclose any information as to whether the system adminis-
trator has made any changes to the conguration le. A list of these les is available
in /var/adm/rpmconfigcheck. Some conguration les (like /etc/httpd/httpd.conf)
are not overwritten to allow continued operation.
The -U switch is not just an equivalent to uninstalling with the -e option and installing
with the -i option. Use -U whenever possible.
To remove a package, enter rpm -e
package
. rpm, which only deletes the package if
there are no unresolved dependencies. It is theoretically impossible to delete Tcl/Tk,
for example, as long as another application requires it. Even in this case, RPM calls
for assistance from the database. If such a deletion is, for whatever reason, impossible
(even if no additional dependencies exist), it may be helpful to rebuild the RPM
database using the option --rebuilddb.
9.2.3 RPM and Patches
To guarantee the operational security of a system, update packages must be installed
in the system from time to time. Previously, a bug in a package could only be elimi-
nated by replacing the entire package. Large packages with bugs in small les could
easily result in this scenario. However the SUSE RPM oers a feature enabling the
installation of patches in packages.
The most important considerations are demonstrated using pine as an example:
Is the patch RPM suitable for my system?
To check this, rst query the installed version of the package. For pine, this can
be done with
rpm -q pine
pine-4.44-188
Then check if the patch RPM is suitable for this version of pine:
rpm -qp --basedon pine-4.44-224.i586.patch.rpm
pine = 4.44-188
pine = 4.44-195
pine = 4.44-207
This patch is suitable for three dierent versions of pine. The installed version in
the example is also listed, so the patch can be installed.
Which les are replaced by the patch?
The les aected by a patch can easily be seen in the patch RPM. The rpm param-
eter -P allows selection of special patch features. Display the list of les with the
following command:
122 Start-Up
