Gnome-RPM provides a GUI interface for the
Red Hat Package Manager
(RPM). To learn more about
RPM technology, turn to Chapter 17.
If you do not want to use the command-line version of
RPM, you can use
Gnome-RPM, a graphical tool which runs under
the X Window System. Gnome-RPM was written by
James Henstridge (<james@daa.com.au>). RPM 3.0 support was
written by Red Hat, and additional rpmfind code
was written by Daniel Veillard.
Gnome-RPM (which is also referred to as
gnorpm) allows users to easily work with RPM
technology and features a friendly interface.
Gnome-RPM is "GNOME-compliant," meaning that it
seamlessly integrates into GNOME, a graphical X Window System desktop
environment provided with Red Hat Linux.
Using Gnome-RPM, you can easily accomplish the
following tasks:
install RPM packages
uninstall RPM packages
upgrade RPM packages
find new RPM packages
query RPM packages
verify RPM packages
The Gnome-RPM interface provides a menu, a
toolbar, a tree, and a window which displays currently installed packages.
To perform a Gnome-RPM task, you usually find
and select packages, then choose the type of operation to perform using
either a button on the toolbar, from the menu or by right-clicking with
the mouse.
Installing a package places all of the components of that package on
your system in the correct locations.
Uninstalling a package removes all components of the package except for
configuration files you have modified.
Upgrading a package installs the new version and uninstalls all other
versions that were previously installed.
You can also use the Web find option to search the
Internet for newly released packages. You can direct
Gnome-RPM to search for particular
distributions when you want to look for new packages. (If you have a slow
connection, this option can take some time to fully execute.) See the section called Configuration for more information about this feature.
 | Note |
|---|
| | Be careful when using Web find, since there is no
way to verify the integrity of the many packages which are available at
numerous repositories. Before installing packages, you should perform a
query on that package to help you determine whether it can be
trusted. Packages not produced by Red Hat are not supported in any way by
Red Hat. Refer to the section called Verifying Packages to learn more
about verifying packages.
|
Using Gnome-RPM to perform all of these and
many other operations is the same as using RPM
commands from the shell prompt. However, the graphical nature of
Gnome-RPM may make these operations easier to
perform. Gnome-RPM can display packages in a
variety of different ways. Refer to the section called Installing New Packages for more information on using filters to
identify packages.
You can install, upgrade, or uninstall several packages with a few button
clicks. Similarly, you can query and verify more than one package at a
time. Since Gnome-RPM is integrated with GNOME,
you can also perform installation, query and verification on packages from
within the GNOME File Manager.
To start Gnome-RPM, use one of the following
methods:
On the GNOME desktop, go to Main Menu
Button (on the panel) =>
Programs =>
System => GnoRPM
On the KDE desktop, go to Main Menu
Button (on the panel) =>
Programs => System
=> GnoRPM
At a shell prompt, type gnorpm &
You will see the main Gnome-RPM window (as
shown in Figure 18-1).
| Note |
|---|
| | If you would like to install, upgrade or uninstall packages, you must
be root. The easiest way to become root is to type the
su command and [Enter] at a shell
prompt. Then type the root password. However, you do not have to be
root to query and verify packages.
|
The Gnome-RPM interface consists of the
following:
Package Display — on the left; allows you to browse and select
packages on your system
Display window — to the right of the package panel; shows you
contents from folders in the panel
Toolbar — above the display and panel; a graphical display of
package tools
Menu — above the toolbar; contains text-based commands, as
well as help info, preferences and other settings
Status bar — beneath the panel and display windows; shows the
total number of selected packages
