Red Hat Summit1.2. RPM packages
An RPM package consists of an archive of files and metadata used to install and erase these files. Specifically, the RPM package contains the following parts:
GPG signature
The GPG signature is used to verify the integrity of the package.
Header (package metadata)
The RPM package manager uses this metadata to determine package dependencies, where to install files, and other information.
Payload
The payload is a
cpioarchive that contains files to install to the system.
There are two types of RPM packages. Both types share the file format and tooling, but have different contents and serve different purposes:
Source RPM (SRPM)
An SRPM contains source code and a
specfile, which describes how to build the source code into a binary RPM. Optionally, the SRPM can contain patches to source code.Binary RPM
A binary RPM contains the binaries built from the sources and patches.
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