Mandriva is a RPM based Linux distribution. RPM's make package installation and removal easy to achieve. One of Mandriva's most endearing features (at least I think so) are the URPM tools to handle package management. It resolves dependancies and installs or removes them as well. Before we get into what these tools are and what they can do for you, let's start with a basic description of how it works.
Using the URPM tools requires that you have Media Sources set up. The most commonly used Media Sources are the CD's and Online mirrors. By default, when you install Mandriva from CD, it automatically sets CD's as Media Sources. Obviously, the CD's and/or Online sources are the RPM's that are available to you for installation. There is also an additional file there called hdlist.cz which contains the names, descriptions, sizes, etc. of all the RPM's at that Media Source.
When you use a URPM tool it will look to see if the package(s) you requested are installed on your system. It will also look at the version number if the package(s) is installed. It compares these to what it finds in the hdlists from the Media Sources and then takes the appropriate action.
So, what are the tools that you can use? Here's a list with a brief description of their purpose:
urpmi - used to install packages.
urpme - used to remove packages.
urpmq - used to query the database for packages.
urpmf - used to search the database for files.
urpmi.update - used to update the hdlists from the defined Media Sources.
urpmi.addmedia - used to add Media Sources.
urpmi.removemedia - used to remove Media Sources.
The use of the above tools makes package management on Mandriva an easy and painless task.