Advanced usage
This content is written for the more advanced user. It assumes that you are comfortable with the command line and have a relatively good knowledge of Linux terminology. It is probably not necessary to using Fedora as a desktop user, but can help a desktop user expand their knowledge base and face more complicated troubleshooting issues.
Use the
Yum
utility to modify the software on your system in four ways:
-
to install new software from package repositories.
-
to install new software from an individual package file.
-
to update existing software on your system.
-
to remove unwanted software from your system.
Installing Software from a Package File
The
Yum
commands shown in this section use repositories as package sources.
Yum
can also install software from an individual package file. This advanced usage is beyond the scope of this Guide.
To use
Yum
, specify a function and one or more packages or package groups. Each section below gives some examples.
For each operation,
Yum
downloads the latest package information from the configured repositories. If your system uses a slow network connection yum may require several seconds to download the repository indexes and the header files for each package.
The
Yum
utility searches these data files to determine the best set of actions to produce the required result, and displays the transaction for you to approve. The transaction may include the installation, update, or removal of additional packages, in order to resolve software dependencies.
This is an example of the transaction for installing
tsclient
:
Review the list of changes, and then press
Y
to accept and begin the process. If you press
N
or
Enter
,
Yum
does not download or change any packages, and will exit.
Package Versions
The
Yum
utility only displays and uses the newest version of each package, unless you specify an older version.
The
Yum
utility also imports the repository public key if it is not already installed on the rpm keyring. For more information on keys and keyrings, refer to the Fedora Security Guide.
This is an example of the public key import:
Check the public key, and then press
Y
to import the key and authorize the key for use. If you press
N
or
Enter
,
Yum
stops without installing any packages. Ensure that you trust any key's owner before accepting it.
To ensure that downloaded packages are genuine,
Yum
verifies the digital signature of each package against the public key of the provider. Once all of the packages required for the transaction are successfully downloaded and verified, yum applies them to your system.
Transaction Log
Every completed transaction records the affected packages in the log file /var/log/yum.log
. You may only read this file with root access.
17.3.1. Installing new software with Yum
To install a generic package my-package, enter the command: su -c 'yum install my-package'
Enter the password for the root account when prompted.
To install a package group PackageGroup, enter the command: su -c 'yum groupinstall "PackageGroup"'
Enter the password for the root account when prompted. Examples of package groups include MySQL Database and Authoring and Publishing.
New Services require Activation
When you install a service, Fedora does not activate or start it. To configure a new service to run on bootup, choose
System > Administration > Services
from the top desktop panel, or use the chkconfig
and service
command-line utilities. See the man pages for more details.