Description: YUM (Yellowdog Updater, Modified) is a package manager for RPM-compatible Linux distributions (Red Hat Package Manager). Its main function is to facilitate the installation, updating, and removal of software on RPM-based operating systems. YUM stands out for its ability to automatically resolve package dependencies, meaning that when installing software, YUM takes care of finding and downloading any other necessary packages for the software to function correctly. This greatly simplifies the software management process for users, as it avoids common errors related to missing dependencies. Additionally, YUM allows system administrators to keep their environments updated by managing software repositories where available packages are stored. Its command-line interface is intuitive and offers a variety of options to customize package management operations, making it a powerful tool for system administration in Linux environments. YUM has also been a precursor to other package management tools, such as DNF (Dandified YUM), which was introduced to improve efficiency and speed in package management in newer versions of RPM-based Linux distributions.
History: YUM was initially developed in 2003 by a group of developers led by Seth Vidal, as an improvement over the original Yellowdog Updater. Its goal was to provide a more robust and user-friendly tool for package management on RPM-based systems. Over the years, YUM has evolved and become the standard package manager for many Linux distributions, especially those derived from Red Hat. In 2014, DNF was introduced as a successor to YUM, designed to offer improvements in performance and dependency management.
Uses: YUM is primarily used for installing, updating, and removing software packages on RPM-based Linux systems. It allows system administrators to easily manage software on their servers and workstations, ensuring that all applications are up-to-date and functioning correctly. It is also used to configure and manage software repositories, facilitating the distribution of updates and new applications.
Examples: A practical example of YUM is installing an Apache web server on an RPM-based system. By running the command ‘yum install httpd’, YUM automatically downloads and installs Apache along with all its necessary dependencies. Another example is updating the entire system with the command ‘yum update’, which updates all installed packages to their latest versions available in the configured repositories.
