how to 'rip apart' a rpm.

[Gene Heskett]

On Monday 17 May 2010, Rick Stevens wrote:
>On 05/17/2010 02:12 PM, Gene Heskett wrote:
>> On Monday 17 May 2010, Bill Davidsen wrote:
>>> Gene Heskett wrote:
>>>> On Saturday 15 May 2010, Kevin J. Cummings wrote:
>>>>> On 05/15/2010 11:22 AM, reg at dwf.com wrote:
>>>>>> I want to look at the individual files in a src rpm.
>>>>>> How do I 'rip it apart' ??
>>>>>
>>>>> rpm -qpl src.rpm
>>>>>
>>>>> should show you a list of the files in the RPM.  When you "install"
>>>>> it, they get installed in your rpmbuild sandbox under:  SPECS and
>>>>> SOURCES subdirectories.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Doing an install doesnt seem to be the answer, It does something, but
>>>>>> I have no idea where the bits and pieces are going.
>>>>>> They are NOT in /usr/src/redhat nor in /root/rpmbuild.
>>>>>
>>>>> You really shouldn't be playing with source RPMs as root.  Look in
>>>>> your user RPM sandbox:
>>>>
>>>> Then I'd suggest that doing so as a user be made possible.  I think its
>>>> asinine that I am prevented from building my kernels as a user, simply
>>>> because mkinird cannot be made to run if you are not root.
>>>
>>> You don't need mkinitrd to build a kernel, you need it to *install* a
>>> kernel, two different operations. After you do the make you can make
>>> modules_install and install with the -n option (if you wish) to inspect
>>> what they will do, or just "su -c "make modules_install modules"
>>> after the build is done.
>>
>> Clarify here: I can do all that as the user.  What I can't do, until
>> somebody decides to fix mkinitrd, is to run it as the user.  That is my
>> specific bitch.  And I think its perfectly valid.  mkinitrd simply will
>> not run for anybody but root.
>
>And this is a bad thing?  I, for one, don't want some low-level user
>installing a kernel on my machines.  I don't want them installing
>ANYTHING that's global.
>
Repeat after me Rick:  "I am the only user of this machine".  And that will 
likely continue until such time as I fall over for the last time.

>When you get to the point where you're installing something that will
>affect all the users on the machine or the operation of the machine
>itself, only an administrator (e.g. "root") should be permitted to do
>so.  This is the whole point of system security and tools such as "su"
>and "sudo".

I am moderately aware that rpms _should_ be installed as root, however this 
machine has mdv-2010-x64 on it at the moment, and its software updater has, 
in the last 6 weeks, probably updated 2Gb of software on this machine without 
even asking me for my user passwd.  OTOH, I have had to use root to install 
another 2 or 3G of stuff.

When F13 goes gold, I'll probably switch after the infant mortality has been 
handled.  The F13beta on my laptop looks nice, although I have not attempted 
to shoehorn my email system into it yet.  Something tells me that may be a 
problem because email seem to be wrapped up in evolution now, which is of 
zero use to me.  IMO it does nothing but add another 1000 points of potential 
failure.

>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>- Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer, C2 Hosting          ricks at nerd.com -
>- AIM/Skype: therps2        ICQ: 22643734            Yahoo: origrps2 -
>-                                                                    -
>-           If it's stupid and it works...it ain't stupid!           -

I like that quote, there is 100% truth in it regardless of whether or not it 
fits 'company policy'. ;-)

-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Why, every one as they like; as the good woman said when she kissed her cow.
		-- Rabelais