RPM vs Yum...

amentzriona · 12-15-2006, 07:41 AM

I am not that familiar with Linux but a friend of mine advised me to avoid RPM and use Yum. I would like to know why....

Sephiroth · 12-15-2006, 07:44 AM

RPM files in themselves may depend on other files that you have not installed. Tracking them down manually is difficult and can lead to dependency hell, a situation in which everything requires something else to be installed.

when you use Yum, the dependencies that you don't have are fetched automatically. Makes for a very painless install of popular software.

Mega Man X · 12-15-2006, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amentzriona

I am not that familiar with Linux but a friend of mine advised me to avoid RPM and use Yum. I would like to know why....

Welcome to LQ.org amentzriona!

It's not really a matter of one vs another. Your friend is right though

. Anyway, you should first read what rpm's are and what yum is and how to use it. Links:

What is a rpm:
http://www.rpm.org/

What is YUM:
http://linux.duke.edu/projects/yum/

When you read what they are, it is time to learn how use yum. I assume you are using Fedora Core:

http://www.fedorafaq.org/

There you will find out how to install rpm's through yum, among many other very important things.

Regards!

fatra2 · 12-15-2006, 08:40 AM

Sephiroth is right by saying that finding RPM dependency can be quite a difficult and long. On the other hand, I really like knowing what a program does and what it needs to run. I still use mostly rpm to install my software.

TangledWeb · 12-15-2006, 09:01 AM

Hi amentzriona,

Hmmm. I think the best way to put it is this.

RPM is a pre-packaged installer, but it is ignorant of dependencies and will not give you a "Turn Key Package."

YUM Fetches the RPM package, checks the dependencies, fetches anything else the install is going to need, and provides a database of all installed stuff, and possible conflicts.

In short... YUM if you can, RPM if you have to!

Dan

reddazz · 12-15-2006, 09:10 AM

YUM is just a frontend for RPM, so its important that you understand how both work. YUM provides dependency resolution and and can fetch packages from many different sources whilst RPM on its own does not have such nifty features.