Maybe you have had this problem: you are using Debian or Ubuntu Linux and a software package you would like to install is only available in RPM format. The solution is the handy tool called alien, which converts .rpm files to .deb files. Install alien:
apt-get install alien
Converting an rpm package to Debian format:
alien --to-deb /tmp/mysoftwarefile.rpm
Conversions from .deb to rpm are also possible:
alien --to-rpm /tmp/mysoftwarefile.deb
About every month or two, such an item appears.
Packages created by alien may work, if you happen to have
all the dependencies installed.
If not, you’re out of luck! Alien doesn’t give any help at all.