While universal package formats like Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage have gained popularity for their cross-distro support, native system packages remain a cornerstone of Linux distributions. These native formats offer numerous benefits, and understanding them is essential for those who want to contribute to the Linux ecosystem at a deeper level.
In this hands-on workshop, we'll explore RPM, the native package format used by Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL. RPM is a powerful and flexible tool that plays a vital role in the management and distribution of software for these operating systems. During this lab, you will:
- write RPM spec files
- build, inspect, and install RPM packages
- run RPM quality checks to ensure best practices
This workshop is ideal for developers, sysadmins, and engineers who want to understand how native packages are built and maintained. By the end of this session, you'll have the knowledge and confidence to create and maintain RPM packages effectively.
The only prerequisite knowledge for the lab is basic command-line familiarity, such as running commands, editing files, and navigating directories. Attendees must bring their own laptop. All exercises run in a browser-based lab environment, so no specific operating system is required.
