[ale] To rpm or to tar.gz that is my question.

[pizza at shaftnet.org (Stuffed Crust)]

On Tue, Jul 24, 2001 at 11:32:21PM -0700, C I wrote:
> Can you configure rpm's to install the package as
> easily as you can if you install from source.  I enjoy
> installing from source, I know where things will wind
> up and apps seem to run better if installed from
> source.  I was wonder what other peoples opinion on
> this subject was.

RPMs are a pure binary package, with a few perks like dependency
checking and pre/postinstall scripts.

To build a RPM, you need a SRPM, which essentially is a tarball of the
source and a script to build it.

The advantage of a SRPM/spec over a pure tarball is reproducibility.  I
build RPMs for nearly everything I install, because it makes it easy to
change configuration slightly and uninstall stuff.  There is no
ambiguity involved; no "did I use the same compile options this time as
last time", that sort of thing.

To be fair, there are broken RPMs, but you can also easily mis-configure
or mis-compile a straight-from-source compile/install too.

 - Pizza
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Solomon Peachy                                    pizzaATfucktheusers.org
I ain't broke, but I'm badly bent.                           ICQ# 1318344
Patience comes to those who wait.
    ...It's not "Beanbag Love", it's a "Transanimate Relationship"...
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