This is a particularly annoying "feature" of rpm -- new distributions
are rpm-encoded, but the old rpms can't read the new files, and you're
in a catch-22.
 
Gary Thomas has made a non-rpm'd copy of rpm available. He writes:
 
I've put a new version of RPM at:
        ftp://ftp.linuxppc.org/linuxppc/unpublished/rpm.pax.gz
 
Get this file, then install via:
        gzip -d <rpm.pax.gz | tar -C / -xvpf -
 
After this, I'd suggest that you install the latest RPM "for real".
Get the package at:
        ftp://ftp.linuxppc.org/linuxppc/redhat/RPMS/ppc/rpm-2.2.11-1.ppc.rpm
 
jonh@cs.dartmouth.edu
 ----------
I had a few problems with the rpm.pax.gz mentioned above (I think it requires
shared libs).  Harry Eaton has a compiled, non-shared version of rpm (v2.4!)
available at ftp://ftp.linuxppc.org/users/harry/rpm-2.4.tgz (download as binary!)
 
Grab this file, then move it into your /usr/src directory.  Unpack it:
tar -xvpzf rpm-2.4.tgz
This will create a rpm-2.4 directory.  Inside this directory is a compiled
rpm binary ready to run.  Copy it into /bin, overwriting any old version you may have.
 
You also need to copy the lib-rpmrc file into /usr/lib and rename it rpmrc:
mkdir /var/lib/rpm.old
mv /var/lib/rpm/* /var/lib/rpm.old/
cp /usr/src/rpm-2.4/lib-rpmrc /var/lib/rpmrc
 
Now you have to update your rpm database:
rpm --initdb
rpm --rebuilddb
 
That should get you set up to install any rpm package you find.
I find that using 'rpm -Uvh [rpm file]' to both install and update packages.
works pretty well.

wj@acpub.duke.edu   6/12/97

rpm-2.5.1-pax.gz can be downloaded from
   ftp.linuxppc.org/ftp/linuxppc/misc

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