[ale] SuSE 9.0 and patch.rpms

[Dow Hurst]

Yast2 Online Update in 8.2 would only download the patch rpms.  Saves a 
ton of bandwidth.  I believe you would have to uninstall the whole 
package and reinstall from the source off the DVDs to eliminate the 
patch.  Normally you don't keep the patch source after downloading since 
the option to remove it is an obvious selection in YOU.  So, unless the 
rpm database understands the patch and has exit commands for removing 
the patch properly, you wouldn't be able to back out of a patch.
I am pretty sure that the patches just update the original rpm and 
increment the version of the packages rpm.
Dow


Chris Ricker wrote:

>Looking at <http://www.suse.com/us/private/download/updates/90_i386.html>,
>you'll find a truly impressively long list of bug fixes for a product which
>still hasn't shipped ;-)
>
>One of the things that's really interesting there, though, is that there are
>now "patch RPMs". The basic idea is that when you're installing an updated
>package to fix, say, yet another OpenSSL bug, you can get the patch rpm of
>just the files that changed, rather than the complete application. As the
>page describes them:
>
>"As of now we are offering so called Patch RPM packages. A Patch RPM updates
>an already installed RPM. It only contains files which have changed -
>therefore it is (much) smaller than the complete RPM package. Prerequisite
>for installation is an already installed basic RPM. The packages included on
>the SUSE LINUX 9.0-CDs/DVD are considered as basic RPMs. If you want to
>update an already installed package, please download the smaller Patch RPM
>package."
>
>Anyone know anything more about these things?
>
>What I'm curious about is how they're implemented. Looking at the first one,
>for bluez-bluefw, the bluez-bluefw-1.0-68.i586.patch.rpm, the rpm really
>only contains 1 file, but rpm -qlp on in lists ~20 files. Presumably, when
>installed, it leaves the existing files, but replaces one old one with the
>new one. What shows up in rpm -q at that point? What happens if you try to
>back out the patch? Do you remove the one file, or the whole application?  
>What about if you try to remove the application without removing the patch?
>How are they built? The src.rpm spec says nothing....
>
>later,
>chris
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>Ale mailing list
>Ale at ale.org
>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>
>  
>

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Dow Hurst                  Office: 770-499-3428            *
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