Steps in the Build Process
The RPM build process includes four basic steps based on what a human might do to produce working binaries from a software base. These are referred to as stages of the build process:
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Prep stageExtract the source files from a TAR file and apply patches that are relevant for the target platform.
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Build stageBuild the software by compiling the programs and (possibly) formatting the documentation.
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Install stageInstall the software on your system.
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Packaging stageBundle the files and directories for the software into a package.
This last step is unique to package management. Although automating the first three steps is great, it is the final stepcreating a working packagethat results in all the benefits of full package management (such as dependency checking).