what it is
rpmsearch was originally written for Red Hat as a service to search for rpms. it is meant to act as a complement to rpmfind. Red Hat has kindly given permission for this software to be released.

what it needs
rpmsearch needs the following support software in order to work.

• Apache
• perl
• mod_perl
• Oracle
• DBI
• DBD::Oracle

how it works
rpmsearch relies on several subprograms to work.

rpmRun

the main program that controls the data being input into the database.

rpmGenHTMLTree

generates the proper HTML to navigate around the directory tree.

rpmFS2DB

reads data in from rpms and enters in into the database.

rpmSearch.pl

is the main query interface for the database. it can query the database using either "fast" or "slow" paths depending if certain information is already know. i.e. it will use an indexed id instead of a string if that information is available.

where it is
the tarball can be obtained here.

what it looks like
check out the mockup of rpmsearch. disclaimer: this will look like a Red Hat site but is no way representative of what they have now or might do.

what else is there
rpmfind is an excellent resource.

what happens next
rpmsearch as it stands is usable software. it does require some work to set up all over again. it is currently not in production anywhere as there is no hardware to host this. if there is interest in seeing such a service, please send mail for possible sponsorship information. ideas on further development are also welcome.

this software is released under the GPL license.