So far, I have seen several ways to
add repositories as well as several
kinds of files: *.rpm, *.repo,
*.noarch etc.
I do not get the whole picture as of
yet, nor did I find any good resource
that explains this simply and clearly
(the wiki is a bit short in details).
I hope this question can be answered
providing information on:
The noarch files are just rpm files. If you look at the contents of these rpms, you'll notice they contain *.repo files. The repo files are what control yum repositories in fedora.
rpm -pql <rpm repo file>
will list the files the rpm contains: you should see a repo file listed.
How to find which repositories are currently registered on my Fedora?
yum repolist
or
ls /etc/yum.repos.d
How to find new repositories?
Well, no definite way. Look around if the project you want packages from supports yum repositories.
Generally the fedora default repositories and the RPMfusion repositories are more than sufficient. It is advised against using other repositories. They generally break stuff.
How to add new repositories?
If you have an rpm, "install" it using yum or rpm. All this does is place the repo file contained in the rpm to the desired location /etc/yum.repos.d.
As root:
rpm -Ivh <rpm file>
or
yum localinstall <rpm file>
If you have a repo file, you need to place it in the desired location /etc/yum.repos.d manually.
How to update from repositories?
If the repository is enabled, yum update is sufficient.
How to install from repositories?
If the repository is enabled, yum install <package name>
What various software are available for repository management?
Well, the packagekit front end allows the user to enable/disable repositories. I think yumex also does. yum itself has commands too. But the entire system being so simple eradicates the need for a tool to manage repositories really.
Added reading:
man yum
man yum.conf
