[CentOS] App add/delete and changing from CD install to LAN

[Matt Hyclak]

On Wed, Dec 28, 2005 at 11:58:14AM -0500, Robert Moskowitz enlightened us:
> At 10:20 AM 12/28/2005, Johnny Hughes wrote:
> 
> >BTW, I know not having a GUI installer is a PITA ...
> 
> This is NOT 1984 anymore.  :-D   We are SPOILED.  (of course I still 
> run NET USE and XCOPY from a command window.)
> 
> >We are looking at some yum GUI front ends like yumex (which seems to be
> >the best we have checked so far).  The only problem I have with yumex so
> >far is that it doesn't work with the yum plugins (at least it did not
> >work with protectbase).
> >
> >The above linked guide will get you using "yum provides", "yum info
> >xxxxx", "yum search xxxxx" and "yum list xxxxx" so that not having a GUI
> >is at least bearable.
> 
> Knowledge is a dangerous thing....
> 
> Given all that yum claims why is RPM still used so much?
>

If by RPM you mean RPM packages:
Yum and RPM do completely different things. RPM packages files, lists
dependencies, performs pre- and post-install/remove actions, among other
things.

Yum uses the information RPM provides to automate much of the "hard work"
that has to be done with installing/upgrading/maintaining RPMs.

If by RPM you mean the rpm command, then mostly habit would be my guess.

> From what I read here, if there is a package I want that is not in a 
> yum repository like Scalix CE, I would download the rpm, then use yum 
> with that rpm file.  That way I would take care of any dependencies 
> needed by Scalix.
>

Yes, using yum instead of rpm to install the RPM means that if the Scalix CE
RPM depends on berkeley db, and berkeley db is not installed, yum will
search its configured repositories for a suitable berkeley db rpm, install
it first, then install your Scalix RPM. If you did the same with the actual
rpm command, then you would have to resolve that dependency yourself.

> If there was an update to a package not in the yum repository, I 
> would download said package and again use you.
> 

You can if you like. Again, it might resolve some things for you (if the
update requires a newer version of another package, for example). I usually
use the rpm command to install local RPM packages and use yum by hand to
resolve conflicts, but that's just habit. Yum now comes with a
"localinstall" command that would probably replace my method quite
handily...I just never remember to use it :-)

Matt

-- 
Matt Hyclak
Department of Mathematics 
Department of Social Work
Ohio University
(740) 593-1263