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2.12. Using YUM Configuration Files

Revisor uses YUM configuration files, where everyone else is not. With using YUM configuration files however, the control you have is nearly limitless. With all the features in YUM already, using it's configuration file format and letting YUM itself work with those allows Revisor to do a lot of cool things without doing anything itself:
  1. Excluding packages from repositories
    Excluding packages from repositories means a great deal. Not having them exist in the Package Sack ensures the package will not end up in the product. This may be what you want for maybe just a few, or maybe an awful lot of packages.
    Using the alternative configuration file format, kickstart, in use by every other compose tool, and the repo configuration directive that is available with kickstart, you can exclude packages using the --exclude= parameter to the repo configuration directive. However, that parameter does not allow wildcard matches.
  2. Including only a certain (set of) package(s)
    Including only a certain package, or certain set of packages is valuable when a lot of packages exist in the repository configured, but you only need one or two.
  3. Concurrent use of baseurl(s) and the mirrorlist
    Like during normal YUM operations, the baseurl(s) and the mirrorlist configured for a repository are used concurrently. This is not possible with the kickstart configuration directive repo, which takes either --baseurl or --mirrorlist, but not both.
  4. Repository priorities
    Settings available with YUM are available within Revisor as well, like repository priorities. Using repository priorities, you can have YUM decide to pull a package from the repository with a higher priority (a lower priority number) rather then a repository with a lower priority.
  5. YUM Plugins
    YUM plugins, such as yum-fastestmirror, yum-fedorakmod, are available, giving you even more control over the behaviour of YUM.