SRPMs ( Source RPMs )


Maybe you noticed when searching for RPMs that sometimes you find packages that ends with ".src.rpm". These are Source RPMs, and although it will be a bit more work to install them, it might, in some cases, be just the ticket if all the other RPMs you find don't fit your distro-version or architecture.

Source RPMs ( SRPMs ) allow you to build a RPM package tailored to your distro and system. They contain the program's source code and you need a special rpm command to compile them.
Also you will need several development packages to be able to customize your own RPMs: rpm-build, autoconf, automake, spec-helper and rpm-devel ( + dependencies ) are the main ones.

So, when you have all the needed devel packages, all you have to do is:

This will build a RPM package suited to your system architecture and distro-version, after the compile and rebuild is finished you can find the "name_of_package.rpm" in your "/usr/src/rpm/rpms/<arch>/" directory. To install that new RPM you use the usual "rpm -ihv" command . . . <g>

For more info and tricks on SRPMs see here: http://www.linuxnovice.org/main_how.php3?VIEW=VIEW&t_id=52



Bruno


-- Jul 12 2005 ( Revised Dec 11 2005 ) --