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<h1 class="title"><a name="software-management"></a>Package
Management
</h1>
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</div>
<div class="toc">
<dl>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="packages-management.html">1. Adding and
Removing Software</a></span></dt>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="packages-management.html#d5e4756">1.1. Meet Rpmdrake</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="packages-management.html#d5e4839">1.2. Handling
Dependencies</a></span></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="software-management-update.html">2. Updating
Packages</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="software-management-sources.html">3. The Software
Media Manager</a></span></dt>
</dl>
</div>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa134"></a>To begin with, a bit of
vocabulary.
</p>
<div class="glosslist">
<dl>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt1"></a>Package</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa121"></a>Software needs to be
broken down into different files to ease its development and
management. An application ends up being lots of pieces: the binaries,
the documentation and the resources the application needs (images,
icons, translations, sounds, etc.). A package is the set of all of an
application's components, stored in a single file in a way that's very
simple to install, update and remove.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt2"></a>Dependency</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa122"></a>Applications rely on
software libraries or components made by different developers to
perform a given set of functions, not part of the main function but
needed to achieve it. A dependency is a package another package needs
in order to work properly. <span class="application">Mandriva Linux</span>'s
package management tool takes care of all these dependencies
automatically.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt3"></a>Update</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa123"></a>Software is a living
thing: new features are added, existing ones are enhanced and problems
(bugs) are fixed. An update is a package which brings in some or all
of these enhancements and fixes into an existing application. It is
recommended that you check for updates often in order to keep your
system in good shape and free from bugs and security threats.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt4"></a>Source</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa124"></a>A source is a
repository of packages, and the place where packages are installed
from. Sources for the media used during system installation are
automatically created, you can add your own sources for updates and
packages you find on the Internet.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt5"></a>Media</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa136"></a>The place where
(software) packages are stored physically, be it
<acronym class="acronym">CD</acronym>s, <acronym class="acronym">DVD</acronym>s, or an FTP
server.
</p>
</dd>
<dt><em class="glossterm"><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-gt6"></a>Repository</em></dt>
<dd>
<p><a name="BIdNEW-software-management-pa137"></a>Centralized place
containing media (and thus, packages).
</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>
<b><span class="application">Mandriva
Linux</span> uses the <acronym class="acronym">RPM</acronym> packaging
system. </b>
<a class="indexterm" name="BId-software-management-it1"></a> <a class="indexterm" name="BIdNEW-software-management-it2"></a> <span class="application">Mandriva Linux</span> provides
convenient tools to simplify package maintenance. The
<span class="application">urpmi</span> set of tools is command line based; here we will
concentrate on <span class="application">Rpmdrake</span>, <span class="application">Mandriva
Linux</span>'s graphical software installation tool and the
<span class="application">Software Media Manager</span>. <a class="xref" href="software-management.html#sw-mcc" title="Figure 7.1. Software Management in the Mandriva Linux Control Center">Figure 7.1, “Software
Management in the Mandriva Linux Control Center”</a> shows the <span class="guilabel">Software Management</span>
section of <span class="application">Mandriva Linux Control
Center</span>.
</p>
<div class="figure"><a name="sw-mcc"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 7.1. Software
Management in the Mandriva Linux Control Center</b></p>
<div class="figure-contents">
<div class="mediaobject" align="center"><img src="images/sw-mcc.png" align="middle" alt="Software Management in the Mandriva Linux Control Center"></div>
</div>
</div><br class="figure-break">
<p><a name="BId-software-management-pa38"></a><a class="indexterm" name="BIdNEW-software-management-it3"></a> <span class="application">Rpmdrake</span> can be used to install or
remove software <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/rpmdrake-icon.png"></span> (explained in <a class="xref" href="packages-management.html" title="1. Adding and Removing Software">Section 1, “Adding and
Removing Software”</a>)
or to update existing software <span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/rpmdrake-update-icon.png"></span> (explained in <a class="xref" href="software-management-update.html" title="2. Updating Packages">Section 2, “Updating
Packages”</a>). Media management is covered in
<a class="xref" href="software-management-sources.html" title="3. The Software Media Manager">Section 3, “The Software
Media Manager”</a>. You can use Package Stats to
get some statistics about the usage of installed packages on your system:
use this advanced information to help you decide whether to remove a package
or not, for example, if you need more disk space.
</p>
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distrib
>
Mandriva
>
2008.1
>
x86_64
>
media
>
main-release
>
by-pkgid
>
275bc5f884d593fea8c87799d871d7f1
>
files
>
438
