Best Package Managers for CentOS

Managing software packages on Linux systems, including installing, patching, and removing them, is a fundamental responsibility for system administrators. This guide will help you navigate the basics of package management specifically for Red Hat-based Linux distributions. Package management refers to the process of installing, updating, uninstalling, and monitoring software from designated repositories within the Linux ecosystem. Different Linux distributions utilize various package management tools tailored to their needs. For Red Hat-based systems, the RPM (RPM Package Manager) alongside YUM (Yellow Dog Updater, Modified) or its successor DNF (Dandified YUM) serves this purpose. YUM is the primary tool employed for the tasks of installing, updating, and managing software packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments. It effectively resolves dependencies during the installation, update, and removal of software packages. Additionally, YUM can handle packages sourced from both the installed repositories and .rpm files. There is a wide array of commands and options at your disposal when working with YUM, allowing for flexible management of software on your system. Thus, familiarizing yourself with these commands is crucial for efficient system administration.

FPM is a versatile tool designed to simplify the process of creating packages for various operating systems, including Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, RHEL, Arch Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS, among others. Rather than introducing a new packaging methodology, FPM serves as a facilitator, streamlining the creation of packages for existing systems with minimal effort. This is achieved through its user-friendly command-line interface, which enables users to generate packages with ease. Developed in Ruby, FPM can be installed via the gem package manager. However, for certain package formats, such as RPM and Snap, specific dependencies must be present on your machine to successfully build them. Additionally, when packaging for different operating systems or distributions, you may need to install other tools to ensure compatibility. FPM effectively transforms your software into easily installable packages across multiple platforms, capable of converting any Node.js package, Ruby gem, or Python package into formats like deb, rpm, or pacman. With FPM, the packaging process becomes significantly more efficient, saving developers both time and effort.