===== Useful command list =====

**To install a package (i=install v=verbose h=show hash marks):**
   rpm -ivh package.rpm
**To uninstall (erase) a package:**
   rpm -e package-name
**To upgrade a package:**
   rpm -Uvh package.rpm
**To test a package without installing (checks dependencies):**
   rpm -Uvh --test package.rpm
**To verify a package:**
   rpm -Vvv package-name
**To verify ALL installed packages:**
   rpm -Va
**To find installed package names matching a pattern:**
   rpm -qa | grep pattern
**To see what files a new package is going to install:**
   rpm -qpl package.rpm
**To see what files belong to an installed package:**
   rpm -ql package-name
**To see what package owns a file:**
   rpm -qf filename

example:

   # rpm -qf /usr/bin/free
     procps-3.2.8-14.fc14.x86_64

alternative with yum

   # yum search deallocvt
   Warning: No matches found for: deallocvt
   No Matches found

This is where yum's whatprovides (provides works in recent yum versions) command works really well:

   # yum whatprovides */deallocvt
   kbd-1.15-11.fc14.x86_64 : Tools for configuring the console
   Repo        : fedora
   Matched from:
   Filename    : /usr/bin/deallocvt

**To rebuild the RPM database:**
   rpm --rebuilddb
**To bypass running the install/uninstall scripts in a package:**
   rpm -ivh --no-scripts package.rpm
**also**
   rpm -e --no-scripts package-name
**Mass install:**
   rpm -ivh *.rpm
**Mass uninstall of packages that match a pattern:**
   rpm -qa | grep pattern | xargs rpm -e 

**How to extract contents of an RPM package**
   rpm2cpio package.rpm | cpio -dimv

As the name implies, rpm2cpio takes an RPM package file and converts it to a cpio archive. The -i flag to the cpio command indicates that cpio is reading in the archive to extract files, and the -d flag tells cpio to construct directories as necessary. The -v flag tells cpio to list file names as files are extracted, and the -m flag tells cpio to retain previous file modification times when creating files.

===== Building a dummy/empty RPM =====

To create such a fake RPM file, first ensure that you have the rpm-build package installed. Then, save this text somewhere as
''dummy.spec'':

   Summary: Dummy Package to provide tomcat5
   Name: dummy-tomcat
   Version: 1.0
   Release: 1
   Group: System Environment/Base
   License: Beerware
   BuildArch: noarch
   Provides: tomcat5, tomcat5-admin-webapps
   
   %description
   
   This meta-package fools other packages to think you have tomcat5 installed
   
   %files
   
Now, run the command: **rpmbuild -bb dummy.spec**

It will create a dummy-1.0-1.noarch.rpm which when installed, will
provide tomcat5 (assuming your software looks at the provides list
rather than the name list).