Can Linux RPMs run under MacOSX?

S

Shim

Registered
Hi, I'm fairly new to this whole Linux/Unix thing. Can anybody explain what are RPMs and whether or not I can install it under MacOSX? I'm trying to install a portal software application but it only runs under Windows/Solaris/Linux (RedHat, Caldera, SuSE). Is there any way I can do it in MacOS X? Or is it totally impossible? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
If you wanted to install an RPM file under OS X, you would need to download the tarball of RPM (source code) and compile/install it. Then you could just :
rpm -i file.rpm

HOWEVER,

Most rpm files you find on the internet are not going to contain macosx ppc binaries.

Even binaries compiled for Yellowdog linux or PPCLinux will not work because they are compiled for the Linux kernel.

So your best bet is to install the developer tools, then try and ubtain the compressed source code (not rpm compressed). If its a GUI app, you'll need to install XDarwin and a window manager.

What program are you attempting to install, anyway?
 
RPM stands for Redhat Package Manager, and is a tool for installing, updating, querying and removing software packages on Linux.
The rpm software has been ported to OS X afak, but as kilowatt already pointed out, won't help anything if the package you want to install contains binaries (if it's not java that is).
If it's a source package you might be able to compile it, though it usually will not compile out of the box, because the files system layout on OS X is different from Linux.

HTH
 
Thanks. But where can I download the Tarball source code, and how do I compile it? I'm not familliar with Linux/Unix commands ...

The software I am trying to install is called SITEFORUM (http://www.siteforum.com/), an application server software used for portal development. It's not a GUI application since it's just running in the background like a webserver. The development environment uses any java-compatible web browser.

I hope all this helps. Thanks a lot.
 
Hm, as it seems this is some commecrial app sold by a company.
Why not ask them for installation support.
If they can't provide it, you probably shouldn't bother with the software anyway.
 
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