On Tuesday 21 June 2005 6:59 pm, Dan Trainor wrote: > Hello, all - > > I've got another one for you all. > > I'm making an RPM that will require a user to input some data into an > application, preferrably initiated by RPM. So the RPM runs, and at some > point, launches the binary application that the RPM is installing. It > prompts the user to enter in some information, and when the binary > application finishes or exits, the RPM installation resumes. > > Is this possible? I've been looking at a few examples of "lawyerware", > where a license agreement has to be agreed to or some such for > installing an RPM, but can't find any definite answers. I don't want a > hackjob, iether - however, I do understand that it might require just > that, as RPM is meant to be a completely non-interactive install routine. It's possible, since you can do anything you want in a %post script, but it's discouraged. For one thing, you greatly limit the environments that the RPM can be installed in. For example, if you expect console input, what happens when the RPM is installed via kpackage or gnorpm, instead of from the 'rpm' command line utility? You also make it impossible to use your RPM in many systems management/software distribution applications such as Zenworks Linux Management (formerly Red Carpet) that rely on the non-interactive nature of RPMs. It is much better to leave the RPM non-interactive, and instead display your license or guide the user through configuration when the application is launched for the first time. -- Bart Whiteley
