The Engine: RPM

At the center of the action is RPM. It performs a number of steps during the build process:

• Executes the commands and macros in the prep section of the spec file.

• Checks the contents of the file list.

• Executes the commands and macros in the build section of the spec file.

• Executes the commands and macros in the install section of the spec file. Any macros in the file list are executed at this time, too.

• Creates the binary package file.

• Creates the source package file.

By using different options on the RPM command line, the build process can be stopped at any of the steps above. This makes the initial building of a package that much easier, as it is then possible to see whether each step completed successfully before continuing on to the next step.