What is an RPM File?
A Red Hat® Package Manager file (rpm file) is a file or set of files used to install software on Linux® based systems. First introduced to support the Red Hat® distribution of Linux®, RPM has been included in many more distributions of Linux® and other Operating Systems like Novell Netware®. The idea behind an rpm file is such that a group of files or an application can be packaged together and unpacked during the installation process. The technology is similar to compression used to package many word or excel documents together for distribution. Packaging installation files together reduces the size of the overall file and in turn the amount of time a user spends downloading and installing the rpm file. The information about each package is stored in meta data, which is data that defines data to a computer. An rpm file, as it is unpacked, stores meta data in a database on the host computer which keeps information about the installed packages. This helps to maintain updates for applica
