Datasheet

“main” (Installation and Administration) — 2004/6/25 — 13:29 — page 176 — #202
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If a configuration file was changed by the system administrator
before the update, rpm saves the changed file with the extension
.rpmorig or .rpmsave (backup file) and installs the version from
the new package, but only if the originally installed file and the
newer version are different. If this is the case, compare the backup
file (.rpmorig or .rpmsave) with the newly installed file and make
your changes again in the new file. Afterwards, be sure to delete all
.rpmorig and .rpmsave files to avoid problems with future up-
dates.
.rpmnew files appear if the configuration file already exists and if the
noreplace label was specified in the .spec file.
Following an update, .rpmsave and .rpmnew files should be removed af-
ter comparing them, so they do not obstruct future updates. The .rpmorig
extension is assigned if the file has not previously been recognized by the
RPM database.
Otherwise, .rpmsave is used. In other words, .rpmorig results from up-
dating from a foreign format to RPM. .rpmsave results from updating
from an older RPM to a newer RPM. .rpmnew does not disclose any in-
formation as to whether the system administrator has made any changes
to the configuration file. A list of these files is available in /var/adm/
rpmconfigcheck. Some configuration files (like /etc/httpd/httpd.
conf) are not overwritten to allow continued operation.
The -U switch is not just an equivalent to uninstalling with the -e option
and installing with the -i option. Use -U whenever possible.
To remove a package, enter rpm -e hpackagei. rpm only deletes the
package if there are no unresolved dependencies. It is theoretically impossi-
ble to delete Tcl/Tk, for example, as long as another application requires it.
Even in this case, RPM calls for assistance from the database. If such a dele-
tion is — for whatever reason and under unusual circumstances — impos-
sible, even if no additional dependencies exist, it may be helpful to rebuild
the RPM database using the option --rebuilddb.
5.3.3 RPM and Patches
To guarantee the operational security of a system, update packages must
be installed in the system from time to time. Previously, a bug in a package
could only be eliminated by replacing the entire package. Large packages
with small bugs could easily result in large amounts of data.
176 5.3. RPM — the Package Manager