In the Linux world, package management systems such as the RPM Package Manager (RPM) and Debian packages have become standard features with most distributions. Package management systems enable easy installs, de-installs, upgrades, and verification of both simple and complex software packages.
The basic tools for both RPM and Debian packages, though, work on individual package files. As Linux distributions have become larger and more complex and as the need for frequent and even automated updates has grown, the limitations of RPM and Debian packages have become apparent.
To fill this void, distribution maintainers have developed tools that either build on existing package systems or scrap them entirely in favor of new systems. Gentoo looked to FreeBSD for the inspiration for its Portage package management, which is network- and source code-based. Debian developers created the Advanced Package Tools (APT) to add network capabilities to Debian packages. In addition to an RPM port of APT, the RPM world has the Yellow Dog Updater, Modified, or Yum, which is similar to APT in basic features and design goals, although it differs in many details.
If you have an RPM-based system, investigating Yum (or APT, if you prefer) is worthwhile. Yum allows you to quickly and easily update the software on your system using network repositories or install entirely new packages.
Like APT and Portage, Yum is a network-based package management system. You give it the network address of a repository that holds RPMs for your distribution along with appropriate Yum metadata. Thereafter, Yum…
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