rpm -i
  -h  print out a '#' indicating the progress
  -v  be verbose
  --test perform a test
  --nodeps don't check the dependencies
  --force perform forced installation
  --noscripts do not execute post-installation scripts

5. Delete a package

Deleting is as easy as installing (allthough dependencies can be a pain). One remark : configuration files will never be removed when you un-install a package.

6. Query a package

Before you try to install, upgrade or delete a package it could be a very wise idea to first learn something more about the package and get to know what exactly it is doing.

7. Rebuild your database

Allthough this should be handled by a cron-job, you can rebuild the rpm-database. This can come in handy when you're experiencing troubles when installing or removing packages.

8. Create your own rpm from a source-rpm

Sometimes you will not find a suitable rpm file (maybe because you're running an older distro). In that case, you can still make use of the rpm-manager as long as you can get your hands on the source-rpm.

First of all, you will need to install the source-rpm itself (just by rpm -ivh mysourcerpm.rpm).

Now when you navigate to the directory /usr/src/redhat you will see that there's a directory SOURCES and a directory SPECS. The SOURCE directory (how obvious) contains the .tar.gz-file. The SPECS directory contains a file that outlines which settings need to be used during the creation of the rpm-file (much like a 'regular' configure script). When you edit this file with your favorite editor, you can manually change the way the file is going to be compiled.

When you're done editing the specs-file, save it and enter After you hit enter you will see a similar process as the one the you get when you're compiling a package. When the 'compiling' stops, you can install the rpm-file in the usual way.