i have just installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 on my PC.....but there are hardly any software pacages installed....i recently installed gcc compiler, gnuplot and xpdf.....but i think the versions of gnuplot and xpdf are not uptodate........i need to install SCI-LAB, latest version of xpdf, latex and gnuplot.......but my internet connection is temporarily out of order.........my friend has the entire package of fedora consisting of 5 CD's.........can i install software packages from those fedora CD's on my PC....??

Not a good idea.

While it is true that Fedora is used to determine what goes into RHEL they are not the same. Fedora is up to version 10 whereas RHEL is just up to version 5.2.

The RPMs might install but you'll have issues with dependencies using rpm to install individual packages and the dependencies you need may or may not be on the Fedora CDs as complicated by whatever you currently have on your RHEL5. That is there may be a dependency satisfied by something on the Fedora CD that is incompatible with whatever you already have installed on the RHEL install. Removing it from RHEL might break some other dependency.

Also if you're planning on using official RHEL repositories and support later using the Fedora rpms would likely prevent you from doing that because you wouldn't really have a RHEL installation any longer but rather a hybrid.

If you DON'T want support from RedHat later why not just blow away the RHEL install and install Fedora instead?

P.S. You may have sources RPMS (SRPMS) on the Fedora stuff. You could probably load those in and compile your own on the RHEL system. Still not optimal but better than loading binaries compiled for Fedora.

actually my system is on dual boot....i am using windows XP as well as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5....so if i want how do i uninstall red hat and put in fedora????

i know dependencies are a huge problem they are a vicious circle troubling......i have been through that experience just two days ago.......!!!!!!!!!

To re-install, just install Fedora as per normal, and wait for the screen that asks you where to install it, then specify the RH install area.