Yum: Can a package have a alias or short name?

Question

I have installed yum package "mysql" previously using :
yum install mysql

However when I try and list installed packages using filter:
yum list install *mysql"

It shows nothing but when I list installed packages without I can see package names which I believe is what my mysql installed:
mariadb.x86_64                                                                            1:5.5.65-1.el7                                                        @gl
mariadb-libs.x86_64                                                                       1:5.5.65-1.el7

Does yum have a concept of short names or aliases? just trying to understand how mysql maps to mariadb.exe and have googled various resources but didn't find anything obvious.

Michael Hampton · Answer

RPM packages can declare Provides: which mean that they provide some named capability. These are treated as equivalent to package names when yum decides what packages to install.
A recent version of the mariadb package does indeed declare several provides:
$ rpm -q --provides mariadb
config(mariadb) = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mariadb = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mariadb(x86-64) = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mysql = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mysql(x86-64) = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mysql-compat-client = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32
mysql-compat-client(x86-64) = 3:10.4.13-2.fc32

Packages can also declare Obsoletes: which are packages that the current package replaces. (Though this package doesn't declare any.) If a package with the old name is already installed, running yum upgrade will replace the old package with the new one.

Yum: Can a package have a alias or short name?

One Answer

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question