Newbie: RPM to install Binaries only. No Sources

Hi,

If i want to distribute binaries only (no sources whatsoever),
can/should I be using RPM as a means to distribute my software? In
other words, i don't want my RPM to have in it any source files.

The alternative is a simple zip file...

If the answer is yes, then in the spec file, should i have anything
listed under %files? (Since i assume my binaries would be in a tarball
to be processed by the rpm.) Playing around with this idea, we put the
un-TARing command in the %prep section (all other sections empty such
as %files, %install) and the builder only created a src.rpm file.

Essentially we have a tar file and we want to put a RPM wrapper around
it...

-alex-

grayaii wrote:

> Hi,
>
> If i want to distribute binaries only (no sources whatsoever),
> can/should I be using RPM as a means to distribute my software? In
> other words, i don't want my RPM to have in it any source files.
>
> The alternative is a simple zip file...
>
> If the answer is yes, then in the spec file, should i have anything
> listed under %files? (Since i assume my binaries would be in a tarball
> to be processed by the rpm.) Playing around with this idea, we put the
> un-TARing command in the %prep section (all other sections empty such
> as %files, %install) and the builder only created a src.rpm file.
>
> Essentially we have a tar file and we want to put a RPM wrapper around
> it...
>
> -alex-
>

Hate to be blunt but you really don't have a very good understanding
of rpm. Get a copy Red Hat's Guide to RPM.

Basically, there are two types of rpms - source and binary.
You want to build binary rpms. You can out a tarball in them but
that totally defeats the purpose of rpms.

/dan