Install a list of packages from a text file.

cat packages.txt | xargs apt-get install

Use this when your MBR gets corrupted – usually happens after you reinstall windows. Pop in a bootable ubuntu DVD and boot into it. Then open a terminal and type in the following commands…

$ sudo grub
> find /boot/grub/stage1
(hd0,1)
> root (hd0,1) #Must be same as the output of the last command
> setup (hd0)

Upgrade a rpm package only if it is already installed

rpm -F package.rpm

Install a rpm package ignoring dependencies requests

rpm -ivh --nodeeps package.rpm

Show space used by deb packages installed sorted by size (ubuntu, debian and like)

dpkg-query -W -f='${Installed-Size;10}t${Package}n' | sort -k1,1n 

You can install Rails in a Fedora system with these commands…

yum -y install ruby ruby-devel ruby-irb ruby-libs ruby-rdoc ruby-ri rubygems
sudo gem update
sudo gem install rails --include-dependencies

Show all deb packages installed on the system

dpkg -l

If you are getting a ‘Can’t locate CPAN.pm in @INC’ error while opening cpan, you have not installed Bundle::Cpan. You can do that without Cpan – using yum

yum install perl-CPAN

This will install an RPM, and try to resolve all the dependencies for you using your repositories.

yum localinstall package_name.rpm

Install a rpm package

rpm -ivh package.rpm