Source Installs and RPM Issue

[robertlaferla at attbi.com (Robert La Ferla)]

Sometimes, I need to upgrade a core component like OpenSSL by compiling 
the source rather than installing a new RPM.  However, there are several 
packages like sendmail that depend on OpenSSL.  As a result, I can't 
just 'rpm -e' the old RPM version and install the new version from the 
source.  What is the best way to manage this?  Perhaps, the solution is 
to build an RPM from the source and than install that instead?  I would 
hate to have to uninstall all the RPM dependencies and then rebuild them 
all so there has to be a better solution.

Robert