2

I'm currently trying to create an RPM from a tarball that uses a proprietary binary installer to dump a bunch of files in the filesystem. This installer does not let me dictate where the files go (so I can't just dump them into a build folder). What I want to know is what would be the best way to reliably package the files?

Dafydd Crosby
  • 163
  • 7

2 Answers2

3

There is a utility called checkinstall that basically does this, but believe it's Makefile-specific.

However, digging a little deeper you'll find a library called installwatch. Though a little old, this can be used to wrap system calls, and hopefully tell you what is being installed where.

Your end result will not be an rpm, per se, but this should give you enough information to construct an rpmbuild(8) spec file.

Hope this helps :)

adamrmcd
  • 246
  • 2
  • 5
  • I was able to get a file list out of this, which has been enough to get me out of the muck. However, it didn't list the empty directories created. Also, there's the task of grabbing all the files created and making a new tarball - it's not the cleanest method, but it does work. A quick note - if you're running a 64-bit system make sure that installwatch puts the files in the correct library folders. – Dafydd Crosby Dec 04 '12 at 23:18
0

You can have the installer run in %post. One of many problems with that is that the RPM database won't know of any of the files you installed behind its back. But I've seen that done, especially with drivers so they don't need to release a version for each and every kernel out there.

Aaron D. Marasco
  • 6,506
  • 3
  • 26
  • 39