Installing a RMP file in Linux

[Lee Braiden]

On Wednesday 20 July 2005 13:51, Barry Young wrote:
> What is the best way to install a RPM file in Ubuntu?  It is not in
> Synaptic via all the universes.

Are you aware that Debian (and Ubuntu) use an entirely different system, and 
that RPM files are not FOR Ubuntu?  It's just that, the way you mention 
looking for it in synaptic, you give the impression that you're expecting it 
there.

If you need a *specific* debian package, and it's not available in Synaptic 
even with Multiverse enabled, then your next step should probably be to find 
out if the next version of Ubuntu will have it.  If so, look for a backport 
to this version, or just to upgrade to the next version, if you're really 
desperate.

If that doesn't turn up anything, you can search for an unofficial APT 
repository (which contains .deb files, but will allow them to be integrated 
into synaptic) on the web, as opposed to a .rpm file.  The website 
apt-get.org is useful for finding some of those, and some softwares' own 
sites will give apt repositories, too.  Otherwise, plain old .deb files may 
be available for download.

If all that fails, you can use dh_make followed by dpkg-buildpackage to build 
a .deb package from a source directory (ie, an unpackaed .tar.gz or .tar.bz2, 
file etc.).  You can install that with dpkg.

Another option is to install it and create debian package info at the same 
time, using checkinstall.  I'd mostly recommend that for less usual software 
that comes with its own installation script, such as python modules, rather 
than normal C– or C++–based programs.

If it's a REALLY big program that you don't want to compile manually 
(unlikely) then you could use alien to convert an RPM file as a last resort.  
Otherwise, it's probably a bad idea.

-- 
Lee Braiden
http://www.DigitalUnleashed.com
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