How to verify .rpm files vs. installation?

Extracted from Web submission
Tip provided by Jim Dennis
I don't know the dpkg equivalent, but using the rpm command you
can compare an installed package vs. the contents of a package file
using the command:

        rpm -Vp $PACKAGE_FILE_NAME

You can also compare the state of a package against the database
using:

        rpm -V $RPM_PACKAGE_NAME

... note that these are DIFFERENT.  The first example refers to a
filename (usually of the form: package-version-build.arch.rpm as in
foo-1.2.3-4.i386.rpm).  The second is a package name (db record identifier)
usually the "base" name of the conventional package FILE, as in 'foo' or
'foo-1.2.3-4'  (but not foo-1.2 for example).

You can verify the state of all installed packages against the
database with the command:

        rpm -Va

... but it's somewhat more difficult to verify all installed packages
against a directory full of package file.  You can't use rpm -Vpa, for
example.   I posted a script to my answerguy column (an ugly one-liner,
really)  to do this.  Look for that at: http://www.linuxgazette.com next
month, or maybe it made it this month (I don't remember).

Jim Dennis,
Linux Gazette Answer Guy

Follow-up : (1)  
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Appears in section(s) : security
Tip recorded : 17-01-1999 18:39:01
HTML page last changed : 27-07-1999 20:10:02