Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Chapter 5. Red Hat and Debian Package Managers

This chapter describes the two major Linux packaging systems: the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) and the Debian GNU/Linux Package Manager.

When you install applications on your Linux system, most often you’ll find a binary or a source package containing the application you want, instead of (or in addition to) a .tar.gz file. A package is a file containing the files necessary to install an application. However, while the package contains the files you need for installation, the application might require the presence of other files or packages that are not included, such as particular libraries (and even specific versions of the libraries), to actually be able to run. Such requirements are known as dependencies .

Package management systems offer many benefits. As a user, you may want to query the package database to find out what packages are installed on the system and their versions. As a system administrator, you need tools to install and manage the packages on your system. And if you are a developer, you need to know how to build a package for distribution.

Among other things, package managers do the following:

• Provide tools for installing, updating, removing, and managing the software on your system.

• Allow you to install new or upgraded software directly across a network.

• Tell you what software package a particular file belongs to or what files a package contains.

• Maintain a database of packages on the system and their state, so you can ...