Package Management & Software Installation Flashcards

Which command compiles and installs software from source code using the traditional UNIX build method?

Answer: ./configure && make && make install

The classic source install sequence runs configure to check dependencies, make to compile, and make install to copy binaries to the system.

What does the 'rpm -e' command do?

Answer: Erases (uninstalls) a specified package

rpm -e (erase) removes an installed package from the system while checking for dependent packages.

What is the '/etc/yum.repos.d/' directory used for?

Answer: Storing .repo configuration files that define YUM/DNF package repositories

Each .repo file in /etc/yum.repos.d/ defines one or more repositories with their URLs, GPG keys, and enabled status.

Which apt command removes a package along with its configuration files?

Answer: apt purge

'apt purge' removes the package and all its system-wide configuration files, unlike 'apt remove' which leaves configs behind.

What information does 'rpm -qi ' display?

Answer: Detailed package information including version, architecture, description, and install date

rpm -qi (query info) shows package metadata such as name, version, release, architecture, size, description, and installation date.

What is the purpose of 'apt-get autoclean' compared to 'apt-get clean'?

Answer: autoclean removes only obsolete cached packages; clean removes all cached packages

apt-get autoclean removes cached .deb files for packages that are no longer downloadable (obsolete), while apt-get clean removes all cached .deb files.

When building an RPM package, which directory structure is expected under the RPM build root?

Answer: BUILD, RPMS, SOURCES, SPECS, SRPMS

The rpmbuild process expects the standard directory structure: SOURCES for tarballs, SPECS for spec files, BUILD for compilation, RPMS for binary RPMs, and SRPMS for source RPMs.