Building a RPM

[investmentbnker75]

Hi all,

Ive read some previous posts on this subject but im in the dark since i am a newbie still and would like to see if someone can help me with building my own RPM.

Ive also been to the numerous RPM howto build sites but still need help, so if someone could please provide me with answers to some of my questions instead of posting links, that would be very appreciated, unless of course its a site that a 2nd grader can use to build his own RPM with pictures and hand puppets, then those are welcome! j/k

What i want to do is download this open source product which comes in a .tar.gz file, un zip it, run the config, make, make install, etc...

Then tar up the directory and create an rpm based on the arguments i used to do the install. The reason for this is so that when someone else uses this newly created RPM, it will install it in a different directory instead of the default directory, they wont need to run all the commands like configure, make, etc... Just an rpm -i filename.rpm should do the trick.

When i untar the original file and do the install myself, i notice it does have a .spec file. I think this is where im having problems. Can i alter this file to have the new directories in it and then build the rpm? What flags should i pass rpmbuild, ta or ba? When i did ta i have 4 rpm's, the main rpm, the devel, the www, and another one. This confused me because i wanted just one rpm.

Please help me understand how to do this. The guy that was here previously did it this way but left no instructions on how to do it.

[MikeTbob]

Hi!
Most people never have the pleasure of building their own RPM's but we do have a few members that know how. I would suggest that you read this link until someone who knows how to answer your question comes along.
Maximum RPM
Check the II chapter, page 11.
It should be easy enough to understand and get yourself started, if you have any problems then post them back here and we'll see what we can do.

[investmentbnker75]

Hi Mike,

Ive actually read that site, and many others. But being new im still running into issues which is why i posted here. Some of my questions are in my original post. So if anyone can help out, it would be great!

[daark.child]

The Fedora RPM Guide may help you, especially the section on building rpms. You may also want to look at checkinstall which you can use to create a variety of packages.

[investmentbnker75]

I guess i should clarify a little more. I have searched for hours and read numerous sites and howto's, etc... but im still having issues which i have outlined in my original post. Im looking for someone who can provide some guidance, other than directing me to another site, which i've probably already have seen.

Thanks for the attempted help but im looking for someone who can simplify more with what im trying to do.

[daark.child]

To be frank I think we have provided you with good pointers. First find out how to use rpm and how rpms are built from the sites linked in our posts above. After that build your rpms using your own scripts or use a tool like checkinstall which will help you create various types of packages (including rpms) from compiled code. Search on google for checkinstall and install it if your distro does not have a prebuilt package.

[investmentbnker75]

To be frank, uhh.. no you havent. you gave me a link, which i said earlier i have found already and still was looking for someone to elaborate further on how i can do what i put in my original post.

If you cant contribute to that, please move on.

[Ziplock]

What does your spec file look like currently? I'm not doing your work for you, but if you've started and need a hand debugging, that's fine.

[daark.child]

To be frank, uhh.. no you havent. you gave me a link, which i said earlier i have found already and still was looking for someone to elaborate further on how i can do what i put in my original post.

If you cant contribute to that, please move on.

It seems like you want to be spoon fed and nobody here will do that for you. How are we to guess which articles you have already read when you have not mentioned them in any of your posts. Is it really difficult for you to do a bit of reading and look into the options available for you? I alread tipped you about checkinstall which is one of the simplest tools you can use to create your own packages, but thats obviously not good enough for you. I'll move on like you suggested and good luck with resolving your problem. With that type of attitude I doubt that there would be many people here willing to help you.

[kai12]

[EDIT] oops, sorry. i overlooked that checkinstall was already mentioned. so let me just say i second that suggestion [/EDIT]

Are you aware of checkinstall?

##############################################################################
#                       #     checkinstall 1.6.1    #                        #
#                       #############################                        #
#                                                                            #
#  Installs a compiled program from the program's source directory using     #
#  "make install" or any other command supplied on checkinstall's command    #
#  line. checkinstall will create a Slackware, RPM or Debian compatible      #
#  package and install it using your distribution's standard package         #
#  administration utilities.                                                 #
#                                                                            #
#  This version of checkinstall needs enough free space on the partition     #
#  holding the temp dir (/var/tmp by default) to write there a               #
#  temporary copy of the package.                                            #
#                                                                            #
##############################################################################

It seems to fit your requirement (provide an rpm to repeat your install process) and you don't need to actually learn how to create rpms.

cheers, kai