Tools for Managing Software

There are two tools for adding and removing software from a system:

• The pkgadd and pkgrm commands

• Admintool^TM

Although either of these are appropriate to use, each has its merits.

Using the pkgadd and pkgrm commands offers flexibility. For example, you can incorporate these commands into scripts, set up optional files to avoid user interaction or perform special checks, and copy software packages to spool directories. If you're already familiar with adding and removing packages with the pkgadd and pkgrm commands, it's probably easiest for you to continue using them.

Using Admintool to add and remove software offers ease of use, because it is a graphical interface to the pkgadd and pkgrm commands and it includes online help that provides general information on using the tool. Using the Admintool graphical interface is an especially nice way to view software already installed on a system or the software that resides on the installation media. If you're unfamiliar with software package naming conventions, you're uncomfortable using command line options, and you're managing software only on one system at time, it's probably easiest for you to use Admintool to add and remove software.

Table 16-1 suggests some of the relative merits of using Admintool as opposed to using the pkgadd and pkgrm commands to manage software.

Table 16-1 Admintool Software Management Capabilities

Software Management Tasks	Performed With Admintool?
Add and remove packages on standalone, server, or diskless systems	Yes
Easily view all installed software	Yes
Easily view and select packages from an installation media	Yes
Add packages to a spool directory	No
Eliminate user interaction by using an administration file	No

Note that prior to the Solaris 2.5 release, Software Manager (accessed with the swmtool command) was the graphical tool for adding and removing software. With the Solaris 2.5 release and compatible versions, Admintool (accessed with the admintool command) provides that capability. If you use the swmtool command on a Solaris 2.5 or compatible system, it will start Admintool.