Fedora Linux

%{buildroot}%{_datadir}/icons/critter.png
mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/applications
echo '[Desktop Entry]
Name= Critical Mass
Comment= Shoot-em-up Game
Categories=Application; Game
Encoding=UTF-8
Exec =critter
Icon =critter.png
StartupNotify= true
Terminal= False
Type=Application' > %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/applications/CriticalMass.desktop

It is also necessary to modify the %files section to include the icon and .desktop file:

%files
%defattr(-, root, root)
%doc COPYING TODO
%{_bindir}/*
%{_datadir}/Critical_Mass
%{_mandir}/man?/*
%{_datadir}/applications/*
%{_datadir}/icons/*

5.7.3.2. ...running a script when a package is installed or removed?

This can be done by specifying a %pre , %post , %preun , or %postun section. The difference between these sections is in when they designate the script to run: before installation ( %pre ), after installation ( %post ), before removal ( %preun ), or after removal ( %postun ).

As a simple example, if your script contains shared object libraries ( .so files), you should run ldconfig after installation and after removal:

%post
/sbin/ldconfig
%postun
/bin/ldconfig

In this case, you should add a Requires tag to the preamble:

Requires: /sbin/ldconfig

5.7.3.3. ...including an icon to identify the package?

A package icon can be included; graphical installation tools can pick up this icon and display it instead of a generic package icon. Place the icon in the same directory as the tarball, and create an Icon tag in the preamble:

Icon: CriticalMass.xpm

The icon should be in XPM format. You can use convert to make an XPM file from a file in another format:

$ convert critter.png critter.xpm

5.7.3.4. ...viewing the source code and the spec file for an existing package?

This is an excellent way to learn about writing advanced spec files. You don't even need root privileges to open and view the files!

After downloading the source RPM for a package ( .src.rpm file), install it in the normal way:

$ rpm -ivh ImageMagick-6.2.2.0- 2.src.rpm
1:ImageMagick ########################################### [100%]

The files will be installed into ~/rpm/ name in this case, ~/rpm/ImageMagick :

$ ls ~/rpm/ ImageMagick
ImageMagick-5.5.6-mask.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.0-compress.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.1-fixed.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.1-hp2xx.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.1-local_doc.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.1-pkgconfig.patch
ImageMagick-6.2.2-0.tar.bz2
ImageMagick.spec
magick_small.png

5.7.4. Where Can I Learn More?

? The Fedora RPM guide: http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/drafts/rpm-guide-en/ (that's a draft version; the final version is expected to be posted at http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/rpm-guide-en/ )

? Maximum RPM : http://www.rpm.org/max-rpm-snapshot/

? The Fight , an RPM guide by Matthias Saou: http://freshrpms.net/docs/fight/