[PLUG] RPM controlled? (Re: Removing previous kernels)

[Karl M. Hegbloom]

On Fri, 2002-12-06 at 18:33, Mark Martin wrote:
> Using -U has the same result as using -i except that it overwrites files from 
> the old package.  Kernels are installed into /boot with names that specify 
> the kernel version and therefore won't overwrite the older kernels.

Debian's "dpkg" does not have a separate "upgrade" and "install"
concept.  When you install something for which a version is already
there, it "simply" performs an upgrade.

> By the way, Mandrake doesn't "override" any RPM "safeties" when you install 
> multiple kernel versions using RPM.  It allows multiple kernel versions to 
> coexist without difficulty (but I suspect that Red Hat does too).

This is not a function of RPM, but rather a function of how that
software has been packaged.  The archives inside of the two RPM's must
contain disjoint file sets for this to work, and the RPM's names must be
different.  Probably the upsream kernel version and perhaps some build
configuration information are encoded in it's package name.  (eg:
kernel-image-2.4.18-smp-i686)

If that is not the case, that the kernel package's name is different
from that of other kernel packages, then I think it's a broken design. 
If that "longer name" to rpm you tell of means adding the package
version number to the package name, then it's a broken design.  If what
it does is allow a unique prefix to mean a fully written package name,
then "alright", that's ok... the kernel packages must have that upstream
version information encoded in them like I say above.

With "dpkg", if two separate packages contain non disjoint file sets, or
subsets of their file sets are not disjoint, the newer package is
required to "Conflict" with the older one, and may optionally "Replace"
it.  Does RPM have this?