I'm still new to Linux, so I apologize if this is actually straightforward, but I can't seem to find the answer. Given a .src.rpm file, how can I generate .a (static) files from it? The .src file only has instructions (as far as I can tell in the .spec file) to generate .so files, but I need the .a files.


Reason: Specifically, I need librpm.a from rpm-4.8.0-12.el6.src.rpm (that's the version of rpm that's installed on my system). I'm compiling with gcc -static so it will pack all the necessary libraries without relying on other systems to already have the library available. However, it is failing because I don't have librpm.a; I only have librpm.so. I want to build librpm.a, but I can't seem to figure it out.

Thanks.

you really dont

you can but it depends on just what you need

the src rpm should have the programs sorce zipped and a bunch of patches
unzip the source package and apply the patches

then have a look at the "./configure --help" output
then something like the below will be needed
--with-noshared or --with-static option will be needed

using the offical source and not a src.rpm might be easier
unless you MUST have a matching .a's and .so's

then add the --with-static option to the src spec file and build both

but rpm-build will need to be installed to rebuild the src.rpm to build BOTH shared AND static

2 members found this post helpful.

Thanks John! This really helped. I'm encountering other issues, but I think for the purpose of this thread, you've answered my question perfectly. I'll come back to this forum if I get stuck.