Learning Red Hat Linux, Third Edition

Installing a Package

To install a package, log in as root and issue the following command from a shell prompt:

            rpm -ivh 
            package

where package specifies the name of the file that contains the package. You can specify multiple packages, as long as you include a space to separate each package name from its neighbor. For example, the following command installs both the pine and mutt packages from files in the current directory:

            rpm -ivh pine-4.44-13.i386.rpm mutt-1.4-4.i386.rpm

The options used with the rpm command include:

-i

This option specifies that RPM should install the package or packages given as arguments.

-h

This option specifies that RPM should print hash marks (#) as it installs the package as a visible indication of progress.

-v

The verbose option specifies that RPM should print messages that summarize its actions and progress.

Generally, RPM will successfully install the specified package. However, errors can occur. RPM may report:

• That the package is already installed

• That a package file conflicts with a file from another package

• A failed dependency

The next three sections explain how to resolve these errors.

Package Is Already Installed

If a package has already been installed, RPM will not overwrite the package without your permission:

# rpm -ivh bad-1.0-1.i386.rpm
bad package bad-1.0-1 is already installed

If you want to overwrite the package, add the -- replacepkgs option to your command:

rpm -ivh --replacepkgs bad-1.0-1.i386.rpm

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