rpm problems

[Michael Grant <mgrant grant org>]

I just downloaded a new version of helix-update, it's an rpm.  I'm
running Solaris on an Ultra.

The helix-update failed to install the rpm because the rpm command
doesn't exist.

I then searched around and found rpm 2.5.2 that someone kindly packaged
up for Solaris/sparc.  But now it reports this:

# /opt/gnome/bin/helix-update
/opt/gnome/share/pixmaps
failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

failed to open //opt/gnome/lib/rpm/packages.rpm


** WARNING **: Cannot open RPM database!

update event
/tmp/helix-install/helix-update-0.6-0_helix_1.sparc64.rpm: size md5 OK

I tried running rpm by hand but it appears that version 2.5.2 that I
downloaded for Solaris doesn't like the "macro" line in the rpmrc file
and perhaps also the packages.rpm database is now in a different format.

I tried to compile a newer version of rpm for Solaris but it has
problems dealing with the berkeley 1.85 libdb.  But I have to ask myself
if I really need to do this.  If Helix gnome installed in the first
place from rpms, then it should know how to deal with rpms but I
couldn't find an rpm command anywhere.

Am I simply doing something stupid wrong?  Should I just go and download
the whole shebang again?

-Mike