Mini HOW TO: Installing Software on Fedora Core
Author: Rikke D. Giles (rgiles@sourceforge.net)
Version History:
1.0 25 May 2004, basic document
2.0 14 Feb 2004, updated everything, added FC3 sections.
Disclaimer: If you use these instructions and your machine blows up, your dog drops dead, or your canary catches on fire, it's not my fault. This instructions are provided as is, to help out other Linux users, and publishing them provides nor implies any warranty, hidden or apparent.
How to Install Software:
Use yum.
You'll have to set it up to use it, but once you do, it's a wonderful program.
1. Edit the /etc/yum.conf file.
You'll probably want to remove the lines about the redhat repositories for FC2. This is mostly because they don't include goodies like mp3, flash, etc etc. Use the fedora.us repositories. The livna repositories, stored off-shore from the USA and able to store things like mp3 rpms, are synced with the fedora.us repositories.
For FC3: Surf to this website and download the file: http://www.fedorafaq.org/samples/yum.conf
This will give you a detailed yum.conf file for FC3. Remember to set enabled = 1 so you can use dag and dries repositories. Comment out repositories you aren't interested in with #.
For FC2 do the following:
Follow the example of the yum.conf file included with this document. Notice that some of the repositories are commented out.
1.a. Security:
Please use the gpg keys and security features available with yum. To do so download the keys for the sites by typing the following:
rpm --import http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY
rpm --import http://dag.wieers.com/packages/RPM-GPG-KEY.dag.txt
rpm --import /usr/share/doc/fedora-release-2/RPM-GPG-KEY
rpm --import http://www.fedora.us/FEDORA-GPG-KEY
If you are using FC3 uncomment the gpgcheck lines in the yum.conf file. You might need to add more keys, using the same general commands, depending upon what repositories you have.
3. Run Yum:
Type 'yum list available'. This will take a while, as yum has to download headers for all the available and installed packages. But you'll see what the repositories are holding.
Other Yum Commands:
yum install 'packagename': This will install 'packagename'.
yum search 'packagename': This will let you find out what something is called and if you are missing something. For instance, 'yum search *sane*' will find all the sane packages available and installed on your system. You can then check for what's missing. If you've got a fast internet connection, I find this to be quicker than grabbing the FC2 installdisks to look for the rpm.
yum check-update: Tells you what updates are available, and what you currently have installed.
yum update 'packagename': This will update the package in packagename.
Once in a while run yum clean packages. This will remove all the packages yum has downloaded. Yum doesn't remove them automatically. There is probably a way to make it do so but I haven't been that interested in finding it... yet.
Getting those missing pieces:
For mp3s type 'yum install xmms-mp3'
For flash type 'yum install flash-plugin'
For java type 'yum install mozilla-j2re'
For acrobat reader type 'mozilla-acroread'
Other cool things to install:
xmms : 'yum install xmms' Xmms is a fine media player.
Totem: 'yum install totem' Totem is a very good dvd and movie player. It does need to have codecs installed to run at full blast, but that's the subject of another how-to.
Bluefish: 'yum install bluefish' Bluefish is a wonderful html editor.
Balsa: 'yum install balsa' Balsa is an alternative to Evolution for email, and email only. It was once meant to look like Eudora, but it's progressed far beyond that now.
glunarclock: 'yum install glunarclock' Glunarclock is an applet that sits on the applications bar and lets you see the phase of the moon and whether the moon is above the horizon or not. Clicking on it brings up all sorts of cool data about the moon phase and time.
Links:
You'll benefit from cruising these sites, in addition to reading this little HowTo:
http://www.fedorafaq.org/ This is one of the best links.
http://rpm.livna.org/
And remember you can always cruise the repositories with your webbrowser if you run into trouble.
FC2 yum.conf
[main]
cachedir=/var/cache/yum
debuglevel=2
logfile=/var/log/yum.log
pkgpolicy=newest
distroverpkg=redhat-release
tolerant=1
exactarch=1
retries=20
[base]
name=Fedora Core $releasever - $basearch - Base
baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/$releasever/$basearch/os/
[updates-released]
name=Fedora Core $releasever - $basearch - Released Updates
baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/updates/$releasever/$basearch/
#[updates-testing]
#name=Fedora Core $releasever - $basearch - Unreleased Updates
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/updates/testing/$releasever/$basearch/
#[development]
#name=Fedora Core $releasever - Development Tree
#baseurl=http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/development/$basearch/
# Extras #
[fedora-stable]
name=Fedora.us Extras (Stable)
baseurl=http://fedora.quicknet.nl/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.stable
http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/fedora/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.stable
http://fedora.mirror.sdv.fr/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.stable
http://download.fedora.us/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.stable
gpgcheck=1
[fedora-unstable]
name=Fedora.us Extras (Unstable)
baseurl=http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/fedora/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.unstable
http://fedora.mirror.sdv.fr/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.unstable
http://fedora.quicknet.nl/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.unstable
http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora.us/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.unstable
http://download.fedora.us/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.unstable
gpgcheck=1
[fedora-testing]
name=Fedora.us Extras (Testing)
baseurl=http://download.fedora.us/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.testing
http://fedora.quicknet.nl/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.testing
http://fedora.mirror.sdv.fr/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.testing
http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora.us/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.testing
http://mirrors.usc.edu/pub/linux/fedora/fedora/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/RPMS.testing
gpgcheck=1
[livna-stable]
name=Livna.org Fedora Compatible Packages (stable)
baseurl= http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/yum/stable
gpgcheck=1
[livna-testing]
name=livna.org Fedora Compatible Packages (testing)
baseurl=http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/yum/testing
gpgcheck=1
[livna-unstable]
name=livna.org Fedora Compatible Packages (unstable)
baseurl=http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/yum/unstable
gpgcheck=1
[flash-plugin]
name=Macromedia flash-plugin site
baseurl=http://macromedia.mplug.org/apt/fedora/$releasever
[dag]
name=Fedora Core 2 Dag Wieers' repository
baseurl=http://apt.sw.be/fedora/2/en/i386/dag
gpgcheck=1