I tried to install MySQL RPM by using rpm command with -i and received a message that it was already installed (which I think I did earlier through Konqueror.) Here's the output :

[root@localhost downloads]# rpm -i MySQL-server-4.0.14-0.i386.rpm
warning: MySQL-server-4.0.14-0.i386.rpm: V3 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 5072e1f5
package MySQL-server-4.0.14-0 is already installed

[root@localhost downloads]# rpm -ql MySQL-server-4.0.14-0.i386.rpm
package MySQL-server-4.0.14-0.i386.rpm is not installed


...then as you can see I tried rpm -ql to see where it went, and got the message that it was not installed yet. I know I'm an RPM, or no a Linux, no lets just make that an all purpose moron, but I don't think it can be installed and not installed at the same time......can it?

Grep a single word, instead of grepping the whole package:
rpm -qa | grep mysql

OR

rpm -qa | grep server

Something like that. And btw, the | is not an L it's a pipe. On a US keyboard it's the key above the Enter key.

Cool

You only need the package name when seeing if it is installed:
rpm -ql MySQL-server

Sometimes a grep is useful too:
rpm -qa | grep MySQL

grep becomes very useful in this case if you don't know the actual package name....
if you did rpm -ql MySQL it would say package not found, but if you grepped it then it will...another option i like throwing in the grep is -i which ignores case sensitivity so your basically guarunteed to find it if it does exist...
example...and we'll use MySQL
if you do ::
rpm -qa |grep mysql
you will receive no results
if you do ::
rpm -qa |grep -i mysql
it will show the version installed....