Page 80 - DCAP106_OPERATING_SYSTEM_TOOLS

Unit 4: Installing Software

Notes
Example: # rpm -I penguin-3.26.i386.rpm
warning: /etc/someconfig saved as /etc/someconfig.rpmsave
It’s up to you to look at both files and determine what modifications, if any, need to be made.

4.3.2 Querying a Package

One of the strengths of RPM is that, ideally, it accounts for every system or application file on
your system. Using RPM’s query mode, you can determine which packages are installed on your
system or which files belong to a particular package. This can be a big help if you want to locate
a file that belongs to a certain package. Query mode can also be used to identify which files are in
an RPM file before you install it. This lets you see the files that are going to be installed on your
system before they are actually written.
The -q switch is used to query packages. By itself, -q will give you the version of a specified
package. If you want to see which version of the tin newsreader you have on your system, you
would issue the following command:
# rpm -q tin
tin-1.22-12
If you want to see which installed package owns a file, use the -f modifier. Here, we want to see
which package owns /etc/passwd.
# rpm -q -f /etc/passwd
setup-1.9.2-1
Likewise, if you want to generate a list of files belonging to a certain package, use the -l modifier:

# rpm -q -l tin
/usr/bin/rtin
/usr/bin/tin
/usr/doc/tin-1.22

/usr/doc/tin-1.22/CHANGES
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/FTP
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/HACKERS
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/INSTALL
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/INSTALL.NNTP

/usr/doc/tin-1.22/MANIFEST
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/README
/usr/doc/tin-1.22/TODO
/usr/man/man1/tin.1

One of the most common modifiers to -q is -a, query all packages on your system. This system has
350 packages installed, but here’s a truncated output:
# rpm -q -a
setup-1.9.2-1

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