Hmmm. On taking another look, the "--justdb" function might do this. The man page says that it is used to "Update only the database, not the filesystem." Does anyone know for sure if this is what Thomas is looking for?
Mark Post -----Original Message----- From: Patterson, Ross [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 10:33 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Zlib security alert Kern, Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > I have downloaded the tar.gz file and gone through the make > clean;./configure -s;make install process. Now how do I update the RPM > database to reflect the new version of zlib? I haven't > noticed any function > of RPM to just update its database with my arbitrary data. Right, there isn't any such function. Just like in OS/390 and VM/ESA, in Linux system management one should color inside the lines despite the fact that the crayons can go outside them. The RPM database doesn't have any mechanism for inserting arbitrary data, just like VMSES/E or SMP/E. You have several options: 1) "Order the APAR/PTF." Contact the supplier of your distribution and obtain an updated binary RPM file from them. Depending on which distribution you're running, you may need a support contract or it might be available for free. 2) "Install a local mod." Build your own RPM "spec" file (possibly based on the one from your original zlib binary RPM file), stick it into the un-tarred directory, re-tar it, and use "rpm --bt zlib.tar" to install directly from your tarball. 3) "Install a replacement product." Do what you just did - install a different zlib. But don't expect the RPM database to reflect that. And don't expect it to behave exactly the same as the original - your distribution supplier may have applied patches to the source before building their binary RPM file, or may have specified non-default configuration options. Ross Patterson Computer Associates
