The RPM environment is made up of a large number of RPM settings and macro definitions. Run the rpm --showrc command to see the current environment settings on Linux:

$ rpm –showrc

ARCHITECTURE AND OS:

build arch : i386

compatible build archs: i686 i586 i486 i386 noarch

build os : Linux

compatible build os's : Linux

install arch : i686

install os : Linux

compatible archs : i686 i586 i486 i386 noarch

compatible os's : Linux

RPMRC VALUES:

macrofiles : /usr/lib/rpm/macros:/usr/lib/rpm/i686-linux/macros:/etc/

rpm/macros.specspo:/etc/rpm/macros.db1:/etc/rpm/macros.cdb:/etc/rpm/macros:/etc/

rpm/i686-linux/macros:~/.rpmmacros

optflags : -O2 -march=i686

This output was truncated for space. As you can see, there are a lot of expected settings. You need to set up these same settings and macros, but with the proper values for the new system on which you are running RPM.

The files rpmrc.in and macros.in serve as the default templates used to create the rc and macro settings, respectively. These files are modified by the configure script to include values specific to the local operating system. You can edit these files as needed for your system, prior to installing RPM. That is, edit these files between calling the make command and the make install command.

Cross Reference

Chapter 20, Customizing RPM Behavior covers how to customize the RPM settings and macros, along with the popt aliases.

The INSTALL file in the RPM sources also describes some modifications you may want to make to the macros.