The Red Hat distribution of Linux, including kernel, libraries, and
applications are provided as RPM files. An RPM file, also known as a "package"
is a way of distributing software so that it can be easily installed, upgraded,
queried, and deleted. RPM files contain information on the package's name,
version, other file dependency information (if applicable), platform (such as
Intel or Alpha, etc.), as well as default file install locations.
The RPM utility was first developed by Red Hat and provided as an Open Source
product as is common in the Linux community. Other developers picked it up and
added extra functionality. The RPM method of packaging files has become popular
and is used not only on Red Hat's but on some other distributions as well.
Popular Linux applications are almost always released as RPM files, usually
in fairly short order. However, in the Unix world the defacto-standard for
package distribution continues to be by way of so-called "tarballs".
Tarballs are simply files that are readable with the tar
utility. Installing from tar is usually significantly more tedious than using
RPM. So why would people choose to do so? Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a
few weeks for developers to get the latest version of a package converted to RPM
(many developers first release them as tarballs).
If you start installing or upgrading your system or applications with tar,
your RPM database will become out-of-date and inconsistent. This isn't really a
big deal (when I used Slackware, I used tar exclusively -- there was no other
choice -- without too much discomfort), but wherever possible I try to be
patient and wait until an RPM becomes available, or perhaps send a polite
request to the developer of the package. (You can also build your own RPM files
and distribute them to others, which is sometimes helpful to developers who
don't have the ability or time to produce such files themselves.)
