rpm vs. tar.gz?

[ejt]

I've installed PHP4 as a tar.gz file but I find that the instructions are different than if I install with RPM, i.e. in the tar.gz install there was no mention of putting in "LoadModule php4_module..." which makes my Apache try to download the php files. Now I am trying RPM and how that it has this module included, as the tar.gz didn't.

1. In general, what is the difference between RPM and tar.gz. Can you use both or are they somehow incompatible.

2. I know how to deinstall RPM (with gnorpm) but how do I deinstall something that I installed with tar.gz/make/make install?

Thanks,

[Kadesh]

1) RPM is a precompiled binary (tar.gz that was "make, make install"'ed). A tar.gz is the source code all bundled up for you to unpack and compile. If you want to relate it to Windows, RPM is like a self extracting zip that installs in one swoop and a tar.gz is a normal zip that takes a few extra steps to install.

2) make uninstall, of course ;) . Sometimes this isn't an option though and you're forced to track down whatever it installed. This and dependency checking are why RPM's exist, they make everything easy. If you want painfully easy, try Debian's apt-get.