To check the checksum of a file type sum file.

RPM Packages:

Acroread-7.0.5-15.i586.rmp

Acroread: Name

7.0.5: Version Number

15: Release Number

I586: Architecture Type

Package Name: This
part of the file name simply identifies the name of the package.

Version Number: This
part of the file name specifies the version of the software in the package.

Release Number: This
part of the file name indicates the current release of the software version. On
occasion, errors are encountered in the process of creating an RPM package.
When a new package release is made available for the same version of the
software that fixes an error, the release number is incremented.

Optional Distribution Designator:

Fcx: Specifies
that the package is intended for Fedora Core version x.

Rhlx: Specifies
that the package is intended for Red Hat Linux version x.

Susexxx: Specifies
that the package is intended for SUSE Linux version xxx.

Architecture Type: This
part of the file name specifies the CPU architecture that the software inside
the package will run on. In the preceding example, the architecture is
specified as i586. That means the software will run on any Intel Pentium or
later CPU. You many also see the following architectures specified in a
package’s file name:

I386: Specifies
that the software will run on an Intel 80386 or later CPU.

I686: Specifies
that the software will run on an Intel Pentium II or later CPU.

Athlon: Specifies
that the software is intended to run on an AMD Athlon CPU.

Ppc: Specifies
that the software is intended to run on the PowerPC CPU.

Noarch: Specifies
that the package is not architecture-dependent.

Rpm -ihv filename.rpm
will install a rpm. The -I is for install. The h is to show hash marks(progress)
and the -v is for verbose.

Rpm will check for dependencies when installing a rpm file
and fail if dependencies aren’t met. These will be displayed on the screen. To
check the dependencies needed without installing you can use the command rpm -test filename.rmp.

Don’t delete the source files used to install a package from
source. You will need this to uninstall the software! You do this by typing ./configure and then make uninstall.

To uninstall an rpm use the following command at the command
prompt: rpm -e program.

The rpm utility checks dependencies during uninstall as well
as install operations. If other software is installed on the system that is
dependent on the package you are trying to uninstall, an error message will be
displayed listing the dependent packages. You must first uninstall those
packages before you can continue.

To upgrade a package with the rpm utility you would type rpm -U file.rpm.

Options:

-i This option
displays summary information about a specific package.

–whatrequires This
option displays a list of packages that require the specified packages. For
example, entering rpm -q -whatrequires
postfix will display a list of packages that require the postfix package.

-l This option
displays a list of files that are included in an RPM package.

–provides This
option displays the functionality the specified package supplies.

–requires This
useful option displays the functionality required by the specified package.

Verify a Package:

Rpm -V package

The error message will have the following parameters:

S – Indicates a
problem in the size of a file.

M – Indicates a
problem with a file’s mode.

5 – Indicates a
problem with the MD5 checksum of a file.

D – Indicates a
problem with a file’s revision numbers.

L – Indicates a
problem with a file’s symbolic link.

U – Indicates a
problem with a file’s owner.

G – Indicates a
problem with a file’s group.

T – Indicates a
problem with the modification time of a file.

c – Indicates the
specified file is a configuration file.

File_name – Specifies
the name of the file that failed verification.