1 # Building RPM's with CentOS 6
   2 
   3 ## Introduction
   4 Many newer packages aren't available to Redhat/CentOS systems through the yum package manager. One alternative is to install your needed packages from source. This can be time-consuming, especially if you plan on creating more than one development environment, and for version consistency between developers and production. This tutorial will use node.js as an example since as of this writing, the node.js package isn't available through any of the standard, or extra yum repositories.
   5 
   6 This tutorial will use a minimal CentOS 6.3 installation as a standard base to start from. You'll need the CentOS-Base.repo enabled to install the _Development Tools_ package and the _rpmdevtools_ package. The _rpmdevtools_ isn't a necessity, but it can help speed up some manual directory creation.
   7 
   8 ## Install the Development tools
   9 You'll first need to prepare your system by installing a compiler, and the rpm-build packages. The simplest way to make sure you have everything you need is to use yum's groupinstall to install the _Development Tools_ packages:
  10 
  11 `$ yum groupinstall "Development Tools"`
  12 
  13 This will install the needed compilers, the rpmbuild package, and quite a few other development packages that might come in handy.
  14 
  15 ## Install RPM Development Tools
  16 This group of packages is optional, but using the _RPM Development Tools_ creates the directory structure, and a sample SPEC file for you. You can also manually create the directories and SPEC file too.
  17 
  18 Install the package from the CentOS-Base Repository:
  19 
  20 `$ yum install rpmdevtools`
  21 
  22 ## Prepare Your Directories
  23 
  24 You should never build RPMs as root. Most guides recommend creating a specific user account solely for building RPMs.
  25 
  26 Using the `rpmdev-setuptree` command, you can create all of the needed directories. This command will create an _rpmbuild_ directory within your user home directory and all of the necessary subdirectories within it.
  27 
  28 Begin by issuing the command:
  29 
  30 `$ rpmdev-setuptree`
  31 
  32 This creates the _rpmbuild_ directory with the following structure:
  33 
  34     rpmbuild/
  35     ├── BUILD
  36     ├── RPMS
  37     ├── SOURCES
  38     ├── SPECS
  39     └── SRPMS
  40 
  41 ## The SPEC File
  42 The spec file is the heart of your package building process, and is essentially a list of shell-commands that are issued when your package is installed. It follows a standard structure with steps that include any pre-configuration, pointers to the source files, and post-installation steps. I found it simplest to follow a SPEC file from someone else's personal RPM. The example below is the one I used, which is available on [github](https://github.com/vibol/node-rpm-spec).
  43 
  44 The [Fedora Wiki](http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_create_an_RPM_package#Creating_a_SPEC_file) and [rpm.org](http://www.rpm.org/max-rpm-snapshot/s1-rpm-build-creating-spec-file.html) go into much greater detail about the _SPEC_ file, and the RPM building process in general.
  45 
  46 ### Sample nodejs.spec File
  47 
  48     %define ver  0.8.20
  49     %define rel  1
  50     %define jobs 2
  51     
  52     Name:          nodejs
  53     Version:       %{ver}
  54     Release:       %{rel}
  55     Summary:       Node.js programs
  56     Group:         Applications/Internet
  57     License:       Copyright Joyent, Inc. and other Node contributors.
  58     URL:           http://nodejs.org
  59     
  60     Source0:       http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v%{version}.tar.gz
  61     BuildRoot:     %{_tmppath}/%{name}-%{version}-%{release}-root-%(%{__id_u} -n)
  62     BuildRequires: python >= 2.6, openssl-devel, gcc-c++
  63     
  64     Provides: nodejs
  65     Obsoletes: nodejs
  66     
  67     %description
  68     Node.js is a server-side JavaScript environment that uses an asynchronous
  69     event-driven model. This allows Node.js to get excellent performance based on
  70     the architectures of many Internet applications.
  71     
  72     %prep
  73     %setup -q -n node-v%{version}
  74     
  75     %build
  76     export JOBS=%{jobs}
  77     python ./configure --prefix=/usr
  78     make
  79     
  80     %install
  81     rm -rf %{buildroot}
  82     make install DESTDIR=%{buildroot}
  83     
  84     %clean
  85     rm -rf %{buildroot}
  86     
  87     %files
  88     %defattr(-,root,root,-)
  89     %doc AUTHORS ChangeLog LICENSE README.md
  90     
  91     /usr/bin/node
  92     /usr/bin/npm
  93     /usr/bin/node-waf
  94     /usr/include/node
  95     /usr/share/man/man1/node.1.gz
  96     /usr/lib/node
  97     /usr/lib/node_modules
  98     /usr/lib/dtrace/node.d
  99     
 100     %changelog
 101     * Fri Feb 15 2013 Josh Strater <jstrater@gmail.com> 0.8.20-1
 102     - RPM using upstream v0.8.20
 103     
 104     * Tue Jan 22 2013 Joseph Hajduk <joseph@solidys.com> 0.8.18-1
 105     - RPM using upstream v0.8.18
 106     
 107     * Wed Oct 31 2012 Andre von Deetzen <vondeetzen@mgail.com> 0.8.14-1
 108     - RPM using upstream v0.8.14
 109     
 110     * Thu Apr 12 2012 Vibol Hou <vibol@hou.cc> 0.6.15-1
 111     - RPM using upstream v0.6.15
 112     
 113     * Thu Apr 14 2011 Chris Abernethy <cabernet@chrisabernethy.com> 0.4.6-1
 114     - Initial rpm using upstream v0.4.6
 115 
 116 ## Get the Source Code
 117 In order to create an RPM package, you need to build the software that you want to install. This is where the _Development Tools_ package comes in handy since it includes the compiler you'll need.
 118 To continue on, download the source code for your particular package and version that you want to use. We're using node.js for this example, which is available from [nodejs.org](http://nodejs.org/dist/v0.8.21/node-v0.8.21.tar.gz). Download this to your home directory:
 119 
 120 `$ wget http://nodejs.org/dist/v0.8.21/node-v0.8.21.tar.gz`
 121 
 122 ## Add the Source to your Build Directory
 123 The RPM build process needs to access the source code for your package. Copy the file containing your source code to the `~/rpmbuild/SOURCES` directory. 
 124 
 125 If you look closer at the example _SPEC_ file, you'll see where the _rpmbuild_ command is directed to your source file:
 126 
 127 > `Source0:       http://nodejs.org/dist/node-v%{version}.tar.gz`
 128 
 129 It may seem counter-intuitive, but the build process ignores the first section that comprises the URL for the source and looks for the filename specified with the `~/rpmbuild/SOURCES` directory. This file needs to be physically present within your directory.
 130 
 131 Copy the file you downloaded to your `~/rpmbuild/SOURCES` directory now:
 132 
 133 `$ cp ~/node-v0.8.21.tar.gz ~/rpmbuild/SOURCES`
 134 
 135 ## Edit the _SPEC_ file for the Updated Version
 136 The example _SPEC_ file lists version 0.8.20. Node.js will probably be updated when you attempt to build an RPM from it.
 137 
 138 We need to update our _SPEC_file now to reflect the updated version for our package. Don't worry, it only involves three lines.
 139 
 140 At the top of the _SPEC_ file, the line
 141 
 142 > `%define ver  0.8.20`
 143 
 144 should be changed to:
 145 
 146 > `%define ver  0.8.21`
 147 
 148 Now go to the bottom of the _SPEC_ file and add your changes to the section 
 149 > `%changelog` 
 150 
 151 like this:
 152 
 153     * Tue Feb 26 2013 Your Name <your.email@address.com> 0.8.21
 154     - RPM using upstream v0.8.21
 155 
 156 This should be the first entry listed under the changelog section now:
 157 
 158     %changelog
 159     * Tue Feb 26 2013 Your Name <your.email@address.com> 0.8.21
 160     - RPM using upstream v0.8.21
 161     
 162     * Fri Feb 15 2013 Josh Strater <jstrater@gmail.com> 0.8.20-1
 163     - RPM using upstream v0.8.20
 164     
 165     * Tue Jan 22 2013 Joseph Hajduk <joseph@solidys.com> 0.8.18-1
 166     - RPM using upstream v0.8.18
 167     
 168     * Wed Oct 31 2012 Andre von Deetzen <vondeetzen@mgail.com> 0.8.14-1
 169     - RPM using upstream v0.8.14
 170     
 171     * Thu Apr 12 2012 Vibol Hou <vibol@hou.cc> 0.6.15-1
 172     - RPM using upstream v0.6.15
 173     
 174     * Thu Apr 14 2011 Chris Abernethy <cabernet@chrisabernethy.com> 0.4.6-1
 175     - Initial rpm using upstream v0.4.6
 176 
 177 ## Build the RPM
 178 The final step after this preparation is to actually build the RPM. Use the `rpmbuild` command:
 179 
 180 `$ rpmbuild -ba rpmbuild/SPEC/nodejs.spec`
 181 
 182 After the `rpmbuild` command completes, you'll find your RPM within the `RPMS` directory below your `rpmbuild` directory. Each build is specific to the architecture used to build them, 
 183 **THIS NEEDS WORK**
 184 BuildArch: no arch etc. explain test
 185 
 186 ## Test the RPM