[CentOS] Compile vs. RPM

[Johnny Hughes]

On Mon, 2006-01-09 at 09:10 -0800, Mickael Maddison wrote:
> Monday, January 9, 2006, 8:32:07 AM, you wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, 2006-01-09 at 14:35 +0000, Karanbir Singh wrote:
> >> Eduardo Grosclaude wrote:
> >> > 
> >> > 
> >> > 2006/1/9, Peter Farrow <peter at farrows.org <mailto:peter at farrows.org>>:
> >> > 
> >> >     You can reduce still further the chances of no rpms being available by
> >> >     adding the DAG repository to your yum.conf file.  This adds a lot of
> >> >     stuff that would otherwise take a bit of finding....
> >> > 
> >> >     Becareful though, you should be aware of the possible consequences and
> >> >     pitfalls of updating from multiple repositories....generally I use dag
> >> >     to get stuff that isn't available from the standard yum repos... but not
> >> >     for an os update...
> >> > 
> >> > 
> >> > Is EVERY package intended  for RHEL (DAG or otherwise) just CentOS 
> >> > compatible right out of the box?
> >> 
> >> yes - as long as you match the release and update cycle ( if required )
> >> 
> >> if you come across something that isnt compatible - let the packager 
> >> know and let us know as well.
> >> 
> > right ... everything that is written for RHEL should work on CentOS too.
> 
> > The only issue might be things that look specifically for something
> > in /etc/redhat-release.
> 
> > Obviously, we can't put the same line that RH puts in their product, so
> > some installers (like Oracle) that specifically look for a string from
> > upstream will not initially work with CentOS.
> 
> > It is usually very easy to get these to work .. look at this example and
> > search for redhat-release on the page:
> 
> > http://www.puschitz.com/InstallingOracle10g.shtml
> 
> > And it will tell you how to change your /etc/redhat-release file to
> > allow there installers to function.
> 
> > Thanks,
> > Johnny Hughes
> 
> 
> Ok.  So basically, every response on this list feels that RPM's are
> sufficiently stable, are created fast enough to address security
> concerns that come up, and have all the 'normal' functionality that
> pretty much anyone needs... is that a fair statement?
> 

I think that is the reason to have an enterprise linux OS ... fast
updates that should make your software continue to work.

> My reasons over the years for compiling stem from starting on Solaris,
> then Solaris for Intel, then to RedHat 7-9, to WBEL and now CentOS.
> While there have been a lot of changes to the OS's, the compiling and
> installing has remained pretty much the same throughout.  I have had
> some problems at times getting dependancies worked out, but at the end
> of the day have always acheived the desired result eventually.
> 
> The one thing I've always liked about installing from tarball
> distributions is that I prefix everything into /usr/local -- so it's
> easy to find all the pieces.  This is perhaps the one thing that I
> find most annoying about RPM; spreading things all over the place.  Of
> course, being able to custom compile modules etc. has worked well.

rpm -ql package_name

(tells you where the files are ... although knowing where they are is
less important since they all go away if the package is removed)

> 
> QUESTION:  Do most of you cron the yum updates, or do you watch for
> new RPMs and update "manually"?

I would never update important production servers automatically without
testing the install first on a test server ... but that is just me.

> 
> Thanks.
> Mickael

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