Multiplatform Package Manager
After seven months of development, the highly portable, distribution independent package manager RPM 5.0.0 has now been released.
The package management system, which was originally developed by Red Hat, has been reworked by a project team in collaboration with OpenPKG starting in spring 2007. The rework involved rewriting or updating major parts of the code. The build environment, which is based on automake, autoconf and libtool was programmed completely from scratch. Support is now available for external links to third party libraries. Support for obsolete RPMRC files has been dropped; the configuration now uses RPM throughout.
The RPM code can now be compiled with almost any C complier, including GNU GCC, Sun Studio, and Intel C/C++ on most major platforms, such as BSD, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X and Windows/Cygwin. Besides LZMA compression RPM now also supports the XML archive file format (XAR). Support for the older RPMv3 format has been dropped due to code cleanups and simplification. The software will still support RPMv4 type packages.
New features for package specifications have been added (spec files) including new tags and sections. All changes and new features are described in the official announcement.
The RPM command line tool was developed by Erik Troan and Marc Ewing in 1997 as the "Red Hat Package Manager" and later renamed to "RPM Package Manager". The package manager was adopted later by other distributions and platforms such as Suse, Mandriva and AIX with ongoing development by the community. It remains to be seen whether RPM 5.0 will succeed. Neither Red Hat nor Novell support the project. Instead, they have their own versions of the package manager. The source code for RPM 5.0 is available from the project website.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel Project Releases Project Continuity Document
What happens to Linux when there's no Linus? It's a question many of us have asked over the years, and it seems it's also on the minds of the Linux kernel project.
-
Mecha Systems Introduces Linux Handheld
Mecha Systems has revealed its Mecha Comet, a new handheld computer powered by – you guessed it – Linux.
-
MX Linux 25.1 Features Dual Init System ISO
The latest release of MX Linux caters to lovers of two different init systems and even offers instructions on how to transition.
-
Photoshop on Linux?
A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.