[TAG] Virtual RPMs

[Mike Orr]

I'm trying to make a virtual RPM, one with just dependencies and not
any of its own files.  Is that possible?  I can't find any mention of
it in the RPM HOWTO or Maximum RPM (both at rpm.org).  It's something
people often do in the Debian world, so I assume RPM should be able do
it too.

I made the attached spec file, but when I try to build it, all I get
is a source RPM and no binary RPM.

``
/usr/src/rpm/SPECS# rpm -ba -vv programs.spec
D: fini      100644  1 (1000,1000)       491 /usr/src/rpm/SPECS/programs.spec
GZDIO:       1 writes,      740 total bytes in 0.000 secs
D: Signature: size(160)+pad(0)
Wrote: /usr/src/rpm/SRPMS/programs-0.000-1.src.rpm
''

Not only that, but the source RPM doesn't have my dependencies.

``
/usr/src/rpm/SRPMS# rpm -q --requires -p programs-0.000-1.src.rpm
rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1
/usr/src/rpm/SRPMS# rpm -ql -p programs-0.000-1.src.rpm
programs.spec
/usr/src/rpm/SRPMS# rpm -qi -p programs-0.000-1.src.rpm
Name        : programs                     Relocations: (not relocateable)
Version     : 0.000                             Vendor: (none)
Release     : 1                             Build Date: Fri Apr 16 00:05:03 2004
Install date: (not installed)               Build Host: sluggo
Group       : Private                       Source RPM: (none)
Size        : 491                              License: private
Packager    : Mike Orr <mso at oz.net>
Summary     : C programs
Description :
Bogus description because RPM requires it.
''

I tried making a dummy file and putting

``
%files
/dummy
''

at the bottom, but that doesn't make any difference.

I'm building it on Debian, so that may be part of the problem.  (Waiting
for my boss to set up a virtual Red Hat 9 server so I can try building 
and installing the RPMs there.)  I created /var/lib/rpm and ran "rpm --init"
just in case it needed its database, but that doesn't make any difference
either.

-- 
-Mike Orr (aka. Sluggo), mso at oz.net  (iron at sense-sea-MegaSub-1-465.oz.net)
   http://sluggo.kicks-ass.org/                  Cxu vi parolas Esperante?