[ale] RPMS

[aaron]

On Monday 08 April 2002 07:37, you wrote:
> Can anyone help me with this simple question?  I want to know if you
> can use RPMS from one distribution with another.  For example,  I have
> SuSE 7.0 professional that someone gave me and there are a couple of
> packages  I would like to use on my computer running Red Hat 7.2.  So
> far I've not been able to find the answer to this specific question, so
> any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> My suspicion is that files would get installed in strange  places if
> the packages aren't used with the distro for which it was intended, but
> I"m not sure.

I've had no problems so far with installing several Mandrake 8x RPM
packages on my RedHat 7x systems. I would expect SuSE 7x to be similar
enough in system directory structure to make those binary RPMS mostly
interchangeable as well. Not personally familiar enough with other RPM
based distros to speak for their consistency.

On a related note, there is a promising effort underway to create a
standard specification for basic Linux system structures.

>From <http://www.linuxbase.org/>  :

 "The goal of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) is to develop and promote
a set of standards that will increase compatibility among Linux
distributions and enable software applications to run on any compliant
Linux system. In addition, the LSB will help coordinate efforts to
recruit software vendors to port and write products for Linux."

The specification draft is currently at version 1.10, though there is not
a firm release date for the first official  "Written" release.  I'm
anxious to see LSB introduced and adopted, though, as I think it would be
hugely constructive to provide a consistant system framwork and improve
Linux cross-distro compatibility.

peace
aaron

> 	Thanks in advance
> 	John Lisk
> 	(lisk at mindspring.com)

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