list files in %files section of .spec

[Gordon Messmer]

On 12/07/2015 02:06 AM, arnaud gaboury wrote:
> In fact, I just did this and it build fine:
>
> %files
> %defattr(-, root, root, -)
> %{_libdir}/%{name}/*
> %{_localstatedir}/*
> %{_sysconfdir}/*
>
> When looking at various spec files from Fedora repo, I can't see such
> method.Most spec files contain a very long list of files. Why? Is
> there any reason not to use /* ?

As Michael said, it's good practice to guard against missing files (such 
as an optional component not building and later not installing due to a 
missing BuildRequires), and because you typically need specific paths 
when you have sub-packages.  The other thing you want to watch out for 
is listing directories in the %files section that the package doesn't 
really own.

For instance, look at the output of "rpm -qf /usr/bin".  You'll see just 
one package.  However, if you listed "/*" in your %files section, then 
/usr and /usr/bin would be part of your package.  In the past, it also 
created a situation where your package might specify different ownership 
or permissions for those directories. IIRC, rpm now treats that as a 
conflict, which would prevent your package from installing.

So, if your package were the only one that created "%{_libdir}/%{name}" 
then you might want to list that, without the trailing wildcard, so that 
the directory is correctly owned by your package and removed when the 
package is removed.