Chapter 15. Package Management

Table of Contents
15.1. The Main Tool: RpmDrake
15.1.1. The Main Window
15.1.2. Installable and Installed Packages
15.2. Let's Install a Package
15.3. Uninstalling Packages
15.4. Sources management
15.4.1. Adding sources
15.4.2. Updating sources and packages
15.5. Updating your system

Maybe you have already noticed that your system is made of a large number of small pieces, in the same way a house is made of bricks. Here, we do not call these pieces "bricks", but packages. A package can then be seen as a box containing all the elements necessary to install and run a specific software.

In this chapter, we will speak about package management, which includes the installation of new packages (i.e.: adding software to your system), updating already installed packages when new releases or corrections appear, and also removing packages from your system. This management is eased through the use of a few tools. Nevertheless, these actions are not available to users, so you have to be the super-user to use the tools described below.

15.1. The Main Tool: RpmDrake

RpmDrake is the main package-management tool. You can launch it from the Control Center, by selecting Software Manager under the System tree node.

Figure 15-1. First RpmDrake's message

When you launch it for the first time, a dialog box appears offering you to configure a "source" for "security updates ". We'll explain these concepts later, so for now simply answer NO to this question.

15.1.1. The Main Window

When launched, RpmDrake does some analyses and configuration checking, which can take some time. Finally you see the main window, showed in this figure:

Figure 15-2. RpmDrake's Main Window

As you can see, RpmDrake's main window is basically divided into three parts:

  1. On the left, a tree showing package names (sorted and grouped by categories) along with some other information; note that you can change the view to a flat, alphabetically ordered list, just by clicking on theFlat list tab.

  2. At the top-right, a box listing the packages you have selected (yes, you can select packages: more on that later).

  3. At the bottom-right, various information about the currently highlighted package, such as name, detailed description, file list, and so on.

Take a random package in a category (remember, you just have to click on the + sign to expand a tree branch), then click on its name. The bottom-right block displays general package information as well as the packager's name. In the File list, you get a tree view of the files contained in the package, as shown below.

Figure 15-3. A package's file list

If you click on the first column's label, the question mark , then RpmDrake will check if the files contained in the package already exists on your system. If so, they will be marked by a green mark . If the files are not present, then they are marked by a red mark .

Let's have a look at the Deep size column. You can see it shows only for directories. The size of a directory is defined as the sum of the files' sizes contained in it. If the directory does not contain any sub-directory, that's enough. Now, if a directory contains one or more sub-directories, then the depth size is defined as the directory's size, plus the depth size of each of its sub-directories.

On the above example, the directory usr has a size of zero: it's because it doesn't contain any files. But it contains sub-directories (bin and share): therefore its depth size is the sum of the depth sizes of each sub-directories. On the other hand, if the directory bin contains some files but no sub-directory: then its depth size is the same as its size.

Now we will select a package. Simply click in the little square box on the left of the package name: immediately, this package is added in the Selected block, located in the window's top-right corner (actually, you can double-click anywhere on a line associated with a package and that package will be added to the Selected packages).

You can select as many packages as you want. You may also simply browse through the packages, choosing some on the way for later use. Notice that if you click on a package, its description is displayed in the block below the Selected box.

Finally, let us talk a bit about the Find text field: as you may have already guessed, this will look for a word through all the packages' names. Simply type in a word, then click the Search button. Packages whose name contain the given word are then displayed under the Search Result tree node in the tree view, or only listed packages in the Flat List view. Also note that if you want to use the plus sign ("+") in your search (as in "C++", for instance), you have to prefix it with a backslash sign, for example : "C\+\+".

Note

For expert users, the Find field supports standard regexps (regular expressions), as defined in regexp(7).

If you type another word and then click Search again, the result of your second inquiry replaces those of your first one. If you want to clear your search results, use the Reset button.

15.1.2. Installable and Installed Packages

Two kinds of RpmDrake packages exist: the Installables, which holds the not as yet installed packages and the upgradable ones, while the Installed RPMs are, you guessed it, already installed on your Mandrake Linux system but unfortunately, there are no upgrades available. Click on the according tab (just under the button bar) to switch between the two lists.

When you start RpmDrake, you see the list of installable packages by default, according to what is written just below the tab. This can be a rather long list, so for your convenience, use the box just below the tabs, which says All by default. Click on it, then select Updates only: this time, you get a list of the packages installed on your machine but for which there exists a more up-to-date release of the sources (more later about sources and updates). Notice that those "updating packages" are displayed with a symbol on the left of their name. For example, the symbol shows updates that come from Cooker, the development version of Mandrake Linux.

On the other hand, if you select Uninstalled only in the list instead of All or Updates only, you will see the packages that are not yet installed on your system.


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