General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs

Chapter 22. Software Vital Product Data (SWVPD)

Information about a software product and its installable options is maintained in the Software Vital Product Data (SWVPD) database. The SWVPD consists of a set of commands and the Object Data Manager (ODM) object classes for the maintenance of software product information. The SWVPD commands are provided for the user to query (lslpp) and verify (lppchk) installed software products. The ODM object classes define the scope and format of the software product information that is maintained.

The installp command uses the Object Data Manager to maintain the following information in the SWVPD database:

The name of the software product (for example, AIXwindows).
The version of the software product, which indicates the operating system upon which it operates.
The release level of the software product, which indicates changes to the external programming interface of the software product.
The modification level of the software product, which indicates changes that do not affect the software product's external interface.
The fix level of the software product, which indicates small updates that are to be built into a regular modification level at a later time.
The fix identification field.
The names, checksums, and sizes of the files that make up the software product or option.
The state of the software product: available, applying, applied, committing, committed, rejecting, or broken.

Object Classes

The information in the lpp, inventory, history, and product object classes comprises the SWVPD for an installed software product. These object classes are stored in the following directories:

/etc/objrepos	/ (root) part of the installable software product
/usr/lib/objrepos	/usr part of the installable software product
/usr/share/lib/objrepos	/usr/share part of the installable software product

Any of the ODM commands and subroutines can be used with these object classes. All of the object classes and defined values for the SWVPD are in the swvpd.h header file. A constant that defines an object class attribute is valid for only that object class.

lpp Object Class (LPP_TABLE)	The lpp object class contains information about the installed software products, including the current software product state.
inventory Object Class (INVENTORY_TABLE)	The inventory object class contains information about the files associated with a software product.
history Object Class (HIST_TABLE)	The history object class contains historical information about the installation and updates of software products.
product Object Class (PRODUCT_TABLE)	The product object class contains product information about the installation and updates of software products and their prerequisites.

Files

/etc/objrepos	Contains the four object classes used by the SWVPD for the / (root) part of the installable software product.
/usr/lib/objrepos	Contains the four object classes used by the SWVPD for the /usr part of the installable software product.
/usr/share/lib/objrepos	Contains the four object classes used by the SWVPD for the /usr/share part of the installable software product.

Related Information

The installp command, lppchk command, lslpp command, sysck command.