Rpm

[linuxforever]

I have one machine with also running suse10.2 on it.
And sometimes I experience problems with installing RPMs

Open the rpm with filemanager, and install with yast.
I then get the error:

"Another process is accessing the package database"
"Package management cannot be used now"

But nothing else is being done at the time.
I have experienced this in the past, and now trying again.
Till now I did't find out wat caused the problem.

Of course I can still manually install RPM in a terminal/console.

Anyone has an idea?

[gogalthorp]

Yes you can not have two process using the RPM database at the same time. Use ether RPM or Yast but not both at the same time.

[linuxforever]

But I haven't opened anything yet, not even a terminal.
So I am not using RPM in any way.

[gogalthorp]

Do you have update running?? If it is checking for updates that also locks the RPM database.

[linuxforever]

No, not that I know.
I always want to do an update which is initiated by myself.
So that I can decide what needs to be updated.

My opinion is that is has to be somewhere in yast rpm manager.
But till now I didn't find it out.
I still run that suse10.2 because it works fine with everything on that machine.
It is a 64 bits version like an other machine which runs opensuse11.1.
So you see, I'm not an Intel fan.

Regarding processes I must say that you also remember linux is multitasking.
And you also know that you can open as many terminals as you wish.
In every terminal you can do things independently from the other.
And you can open as may desktops as you wish.
That is wistful thinking for windows users, haha!

[gogalthorp]

You can not have 2 update process running at the same time it would be total chaos. This is why they lock the database to keep two installs from interacting with each other. This is by design as a safety precaution to limit possible catastrophic failure if two process tried to install mutually antagonistic libraries. This could happen because the two processes would not know what the other was installing and dependency problems could happen. So it is designed that no two processes can have the RPM database open at the same time to prevent this.

It is probably not a great idea to install two Windows programs at the same time either. But Windows has a different design and does not in general have dependency problems but they certainly can happen when one program install replaces a DLL used by another program. But windows does not prevent this like the excellent dependency tracking done in RPM.

[linuxforever]

But I'm not running even one update process, as I already have said.
I am just installing a program and that is in a RPM.
You can always install programs that are for instance on the suse DVD.
Or you have downloaded from somewhere.
You cannot install everything that is on the DVD because that is much to many.

Installing a RPM from a folder is just like extracting a tar.bz or tar.gz from a folder.
You do it with the RPM command, and there is no RPM database opened.
That's why installing in a terminal still works.
If there are dependencies you will see it on the output.
You can also have several terminals open.
Install a RPM in one, and after that in an other again a RPM.
Because after you have installed a RPM, the process is over, and nothing is open anymore.

So you can install a lot of programs afterwards, and that I have done many times.
I did this often with yast, but sometimes got the error message.
On the other side I don't get the error message in opensuse11.1.
So it has te be somewhere in the yast settings.

No, it's not my hobby to install two windows programs simultaneously.
It wouldn't make sense.
But as you know windows has taken a low voice concerning the multitasking of it.
It sure isn't it in the sense that linux is.

[gogalthorp]

Ok In the first post you said this happens when Yast is running and you use the RPM to try and install. Maybe I miss understand?

Any update or install process locks the RPM database. If you find that the RPM database is locked then some other process has it opened.

It is possible that the process is hung with the the database open.

check for processes that may have the RPM file open. Use the ps -A command

in any case a reboot should correct the problem if you cannot find the process.

Do not try to use RPM when you have one of the Yast-Software windows open. These lock the database.

Updater can lock the database periodically when checking or installing for updates.

zypper locks it too but only when running a command.

rpm locks it while doing installs also.

Stopping the process that has the data locked will unlock the file.

[linuxforever]

No, I did't say yast was running.
I said I open the rpm-file in file-manager, and then you get a window with the option: install with yast.
You click it and yast opens to install the rpm-file.
And then I get the error.
I don't have another rpm-file open or another yast software window.

However if I close yast and install the rpm-file in terminal everything is OK.
And nothing whatever has to be done with any rpm database.
You don't need any database to install a rpm.
As I already have said.

If I reboot, then exactly the same happens.

[gogalthorp]

Ok I see.

I alway install RPM's from the command line when I must manually install one outside of the Yast Software manger.

I guess it could be a bug.

You do need the RPM database. When a RPM file is installed the install is recorded in the RPM database. Also the FB is inquired about dependencies. This DB is how the rpm program manages dependencies. Without it the OS does not know what has been installed and the version, required libraries etc.

What version Suse. 11.2? KDE or Gnome

Just tried it here and I have no problems.
Did you do a clean install or an upgrade?