RUST::using RUST

RUST is designed to be intuitive and simple to use.

The interface is divided between the system panel (on the left) and the new root panel (on the right). You can navigate the machine's entire filesystem within the system panel, going into and coming up from various directories.

The new root panel is where you drop the files and directories draged from the system panel. You can browse the filesystem beneath the selected "new root", create and delete directories and drag files and directories from the system panel into the new root panel.

The processe of creating an RPM involves 4 steps:

Setting up a new root
Entering the package specifications
Placing files and directories
Creating the RPM

1. Setting up a new root

Select a directory in which you will place the files to include in the RPM, for example /home/pat/rust/newroot. The directory or it's parents need not exist.

Click on New Root->Select... in the menu.

Enter the full path of the directory you wish to use, eg /home/pat/rust/newroot, and click OK. The newroot directory has now been created.

In order for the RPM creation to work correctly, we must now initialize the newroot. To do so, select New Root->Initialize in the menu. New Root->Initialize and copy, New Root->Initialize and Full copy. and New Root->Use MD5 are only used in conjunction with the sandbox and would take needless time and space in our case.

The newroot now contains a basic directory tree with all the usual directories present. These steps can be repeated later but they need not be - you may use the Clean toolbar button to remove any files and directories that have been added since the initialization.

2. Enter the specifications for your package

Activate Package->Properties... in the menu and fill in relevant values in the name, version, release, summary and description fields. Click OK.

If you have a shell script that should be run after installation or uninstallation of the RPM, enter it's location in the post install or post uninstall field or use the browse button to select it. This script will be run by rpm at the appropriate time.

If your package has special requirements (eg, the ncurses package must be installed for it to function), enter the list of required packages in the requires field.

You may save your current configuration (location of newroot and package properties) by using File->Save As...

3. Place the files

Browse the filesystem using the system panel to locate the files you wish to include in the RPM. Go into (or create using the New toolbar button and enter) an appropriate destination directory for the file, under the newroot. Select the file or directory from the system panel, drag it with the mouse to the new root panel and release the mouse button. The file or directory will be copied into the new root.

Find all the files and directories you wish to include in your RPM and place them within the new root.

4. Create the RPM

When you are ready, click the makeRPM button on the bottom right. After a few moments, the RPM will be created. You will find the new RPM in your home under ~/rust/RPMS/i386/

You can check the contents of the RPM by issuing the command
$ rpm -qlp ~/rust/RPMS/i386/namofrpm-X.X-X.i386.rpm