Question about the proper binaries for Red Hat Linux 7.2

[tomgee yada-yada org]

Hello all,

I am new to the gtk-list mail alias. I am running the RedHat v7.2
distribution of Linux on Intel architecture.

My newsreader, pan, is now offered in a version that requires gtk
2.0+, so I would like to upgrade. Though I have installed several
applications, until now I have had only a few opportunities to install
or upgrade system components like gtk. Therefore, if possible, I would
like to avoid the source and, instead, use the binaries offered at the
gtk website. However, I am a bit confused.

Using the gtk website as a guide to identify the packages that might
be affected by the upgrade, I queried the rpm database on the target
system and found the following. I think... I hope... that these are
the only ones potentially relevant to my questions.

atk <<<not installed>>>
freetype-2.0.3-7
freetype-devel-2.0.3-7
glib-1.2.10-5
glib-devel-1.2.10-5
glib10-1.0.6-10
glibc-2.2.4-13
glibc-common-2.2.4-13
glibc-devel-2.2.4-13
gtk+-devel-1.2.10-11
gtk+10-1.0.6-10
gtk-engines-0.11-3
gtkhtml-0.9.2-9
pango <<<not installed>>>

1. The binary packages at
//ftp.gtk.org/pub/gtk/v2.0/binary/old/RedHat-7.2/RPMS/i386/ fall into
3 categories by name:

   1) - <pkgname>-<version>.i386.rpm
   2) - <pkgname>-<version>gtk.i386.rpm
   3) - pkgconfig-0.12.0-1gtk.i386.rpm

   Can someone describe what these are?

   Which should I install?

2. If I install the gtk2 packages, will my gnome v1.4 desktop and
X-applications still function? This is another way of asking if gtk2
is backwards compatible? If not, will the two versions of gtk coexist?

3. Does the freetype package contain only programming support or does
it also contain any of the popular (read that as common to Microsoft
systems) TrueType fonts such as Arial or Comic Sans MS? If not, does
anyone have a suggestion as to where I might find these?

4. Looking at the rpm inventory above, there is an entry that reads
glib10-1.0.6-10. This seems a bit odd. Can anyone comment as to what
this is? It doesn't seem to belong.

I apologize for the elementary questions, but I'm trying to avoid
trashing my system. I did search for documentation, but couldn't find
what I needed. If questions like the ones that I have asked are
answered somewhere, please just supply the link and I'll gladly read
the material. Actually, I'd prefer to RTFM.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Best regards,

Tom Gee