Fedora Core 4 Release Notes
Copyright © 2005 Red Hat, Inc.
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RELEASE-NOTES-FC4 (2005-05-30-T16:20-0700)
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Table of Contents
Welcome to Fedora Core 4
New in Fedora Core 4
Introduction and Technical Release Notes
Hardware Requirements
CPU Requirements
Hard Disk Space Requirements
Memory Requirements
PPC Hardware Requirements
Overview of This Release
Installation-Related Notes
PPC Installation Notes
Anaconda Notes
Installation-Related Issues
Package-Specific Notes
Basic Components
Core
Development Tools
Language Support
Multimedia
Web Servers
Samba (Windows Compatibility)
X Window System (Graphics)
Packages Movement
Packages Moved to Fedora Extras
An Overview of the Fedora Project
Welcome to Fedora Core 4
Fedora Core is a completely free, user friendly, and secure general
purpose platform based on Linux. The Fedora Project is an open
source project that pioneers leading edge technology and concepts
sponsored by Red Hat and supported by the Fedora community.
New Installation Guide
New for this release is the Fedora Core 4 Installation Guide. This
guide is useful for users of all levels and can be found at this
URL:
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/fedora-install-guide-en/
Refer to these webpages to find out more information about Fedora:
* the section called “New in Fedora Core 4”
* the section called “Introduction and Technical Release Notes”
— Technical release notes
* Help and Support
(http://fedora.redhat.com/participate/communicate/)
* Participate in the Fedora Project
(http://fedora.redhat.com/participate/)
* About the Fedora Project (http://fedora.redhat.com/about/)
New in Fedora Core 4
Fedora Core 4 is the latest version of the free and popular Fedora
Core platform with a number of unique features and significant
improvements over previous versions. This section provides an
overview of the major highlights in this release.
* Desktop Enhancements — The Fedora desktop brings to you the
latest software such as GNOME 2.10 and KDE 3.4 with a new look
and feel. GNOME has the new simple and elegant Clearlooks
default theme that is inspired by the classic Red Hat Bluecurve
theme.
[Fedora_Desktop.png]
[D]
* Improved Productivity
+ Evince (http://www.gnome.org/projects/evince/) is a
document viewer for multiple document formats such as pdf,
postscript, and many others. Evince replaces a whole
category of document viewers with a single simple
application.
+ OpenOffice.org 2.0
(http://www.openoffice.org/product2/index.html) is an
office productivity suite. This latest version includes
several enhancements such as improved Microsoft Office
compatibility, completely revamped Impress presentation
software, and native support for the OpenDocument format.
This version also introduces Base, a fully integrated
database management software. You can find the extensive
list of new features at
http://marketing.openoffice.org/2.0/featureguide.html.
+ Eclipse 3.1 is an open and extensible platform and
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that can be used
to develop software in any language.
* Support for PowerPC (PPC) Architecture — Refer to the section
called “PPC Hardware Requirements” and the section called “PPC
Installation Notes”.
* Improved Security — SELinux is a security architecture that
protects applications and uses through finely grained security
controls. The targeted policy that has been active since Fedora
Core 3 has been improved to cover dozens of more daemons. You
can read more in the technical release notes the section called
“Overview of This Release”.
* Integrated Clustering Technology — Global File System (GFS) is
an open source clustering file system that allows a cluster of
Linux servers to share a common storage pool. Fedora Core 4 has
integrated GFS within the system to manage your storage in an
efficient way. You can read more at
http://www.redhat.com/software/rha/gfs/.
* Built-in Virtualization — Xen is a virtual machine that can
securely run multiple operating systems in their own sandboxed
domains. Xen has been integrated into Fedora Core to work in a
seamless fashion. You can read more about Xen at
http://fedora.redhat.com/projects/virtualization/.
* Solid Platform — Fedora Core 4 includes and integrates the
latest 4.0 version of GNU Compiler Collection which has a
rewritten optimisation infrastructure and improved support for a
native Free Java software stack. This includes parts of
OpenOffice.org 2.0., Eclipse, and Apache Jakarta, among others.
Introduction and Technical Release Notes
The Fedora Project is an openly-developed project designed by Red
Hat, open for general participation, led by a meritocracy, and
following a set of project objectives. The results from this project
include Fedora Core, a complete, general-purpose operating system
built exclusively from open source software.
Note
Fedora Core is a community supported project.
Fedora Core is not a commercially supported product of Red Hat,
Inc..
For more information, refer to the section called “Overview of This
Release”.
Additional important information about this release may be made
available at http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/release-notes/. Users are
advised to check this link regularly for updates.
For reporting errors or other requests about these release notes,
file a bug report using this pre-filled bugzilla template:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/enter_bug.cgi?assigned_to=relno
tes%40fedoraproject.org&blocked=151189&bug_file_loc=http%3A%2F%2Ffed
oraproject.org%2Fwiki%2FDocsProject%2FReleaseNotes%2FProcess&bug_sev
erity=normal&bug_status=NEW&cc=kwade%40redhat.com&comment=Descriptio
n%20of%20problem%2C%20bug%2C%20incorrect%20information%2C%20or%20enh
ancement%20request%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AVersion%20of%20release%20note
s%20this%20bug%20refers%20to%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AFedora%20Core%204%20final
%20release&component=fedora-docs&contenttypeentry=&contenttypemethod
=list&contenttypeselection=text%2Fplain&data=&dependson=&description
=&estimated_time=0.0&estimated_time_presets=0.0&ext_bz_bug_id=&ext_b
z_id=0&form_name=enter_bug&keywords=&maketemplate=Remember%20values%
20as%20bookmarkable%20template&op_sys=Linux&priority=normal&product=
Fedora%20Core&rep_platform=All&short_desc=Describe%20problem%2C%20fi
x%2C%20or%20request%20for%20release%20notes&version=devel&GoAheadAnd
LogIn=Login
This http://tinyurl.com/al5g4 will take you to the same pre-filled
bugzilla template.
Hardware Requirements
The following information represents the minimum hardware
requirements necessary to successfully install Fedora Core 4.
Note
The compatibility/availability of other hardware components (such as
video and network cards) may be required for specific installation
modes and/or post-installation usage.
CPU Requirements
This section lists the CPU specifications required by Fedora Core 4.
Note
The following CPU specifications are stated in terms of Intel
processors. Other processors (notably, offerings from AMD, Cyrix,
and VIA) that are compatible with and equivalent to the following
Intel processors may also be used with Fedora Core.
* Minimum: Pentium-class — Fedora Core 4 is optimized for Pentium
4 CPUs, but also supports earlier CPUs (such as Pentium, Pentium
Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, and including AMD and VIA
variants). This approach has been taken because Pentium-class
optimizations actually result in reduced performance for
non-Pentium-class processors, and Pentium 4 scheduling is
sufficiently different (while making up the bulk of today's
processors) to warrant this change.
* Recommended for text-mode: 200 MHz Pentium-class or better
* Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz Pentium II or better
* AMD64 processors (both Athlon64 and Opteron)
* Intel processors with Intel® Extended Memory 64 Technology
(Intel® EM64T)
Hard Disk Space Requirements
This section lists the disk space required to install Fedora Core 4.
Note
The disk space requirements listed below represent the disk space
taken up by Fedora Core 4 after the installation is complete.
However, additional disk space is required during the installation
to support the installation environment. This additional disk space
corresponds to the size of /Fedora/base/stage2.img (on CD-ROM 1)
plus the size of the files in /var/lib/rpm on the installed system.
In practical terms, this means that as little as an additional 90MB
can be required for a minimal installation, while as much as an
additional 175MB can be required for an "everything" installation.
Also, keep in mind that additional space will be required for any
user data, and at least 5% free space should be maintained for
proper system operation.
This list is for 32-bit x86 systems:
* Custom Installation (Minimal): 620MB
* Server: 1.1GB
* Personal Desktop: 2.3GB
* Workstation: 3.0GB
* Custom Installation (Everything): 6.9GB
This list is for 64-bit x86_64 systems:
* Custom Installation (Minimal): 900MB
* Server: 1.5GB
* Personal Desktop: 2.7GB
* Workstation: 3.4GB
* Custom Installation: (Everything) 7.5GB
Memory Requirements
This section lists the memory required to install Fedora Core 4.
This list is for 32-bit x86 systems:
* Minimum for text-mode: 64MB
* Minimum for graphical: 192MB
* Recommended for graphical: 256MB
This list is for 64-bit x86_64 systems:
* Minimum for text-mode: 128MB
* Minimum for graphical: 256MB
* Recommended for graphical: 512MB
PPC Hardware Requirements
This section lists the minimum PowerPC (PPC) hardware needed to
install Fedora Core 4.
* Minimum: PowerPC G3 / POWER4
* Fedora Core 4 supports only the “New World” generation of
Apple® Power Macintosh, shipped circa 1999 onwards. It also
supports the 64-bit G5 processor and, POWER processors in IBM®
eServer™ pSeries™. Currently 32-bit IBM® RS/6000™ machines are
not supported.
* Recommended for text-mode: 233 MHz G3 or better
* Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz G3 or better
Overview of This Release
The following list includes brief summaries of some of the more
significant aspects of Fedora Core 4:
* Fedora Core 4 contains the following changes:
+ Support for the PowerPC (PPC) architecture.
+ GCC 4.0
+ GNOME 2.10
+ KDE 3.4 — includes new accessibility features. You can
manage these new features in KDS Control CenterRegional &
AccessibilityAccessibility.
+ Native Eclipse 3.1M6 (part of a free Java stack)
+ MySQL 4.1
+ PHP 5.0
+ Xen 2 (virtualization to run multiple versions of an OS)
+ GFS 6.1-0.pre22 (cluster file system)
+ Evince 0.2.1 (universal document viewer)
+ GDM 2.6 - Includes early login capability
+ SELinux — This release includes coverage for 80 new daemons
by the targeted policy. There are changes to the handling
of Booleans. The targeted policy is enabled by default. For
more information, refer to:
http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/selinux-faq/
For This is the complete list of daemons covered by the
targeted policy:
o NetworkManager
o amanda
o apache
o apmd
o arpwatch
o auditd
o bluetooth
o canna
o cardmgr
o checkpolicy
o chkpwd
o compat
o comsat
o consoletype
o cpucontrol
o cpuspeed
o crond
o cups
o cvs
o cyrus
o dbskkd
o dbusd
o dhcpc
o dhcpd
o dictd
o dmidecode
o dovecot
o fingerd
o fsadm
o ftpd
o getty
o hald
o hostname
o hotplug
o howl
o hwclock
o i18n_input
o ifconfig
o inetd
o init
o initrc
o innd
o kerberos
o klogd
o ktalkd
o kudzu
o ldconfig
o load_policy
o login
o lpd
o mailman
o modutil
o mta
o mysqld
o named
o netutils
o nscd
o ntpd
o portmap
o postgresql
o ppd
o privoxy
o radius
o radvd
o restorecon
o rlogind
o rpcd
o rpm
o rshd
o rsync
o samba
o saslauthd
o sendmail
o setfiles
o slapd
o snmpd
o squid
o ssh
o stunnel
o syslogd
o telnetd
o tftpd
o udev
o updfstab
o uucpd
o webalizer
o winbind
o xdm
o ypbind
o ypserv
o zebra
Installation-Related Notes
This section outlines those issues that are related to Anaconda (the
Fedora Core installation program) and installing Fedora Core 4 in
general.
Note
If you intend to download the Fedora Core 4 DVD ISO image, keep in
mind that not all file downloading tools can accommodate files
larger than 2GB in size. For example, wget will exit with a File
size limit exceeded error.
The curl and ncftpget file downloading tools do not have this
limitation, and can successfully download files larger than 2GB.
Bittorrent is another method for downloading large files. For
information about obtaining and using the torrent file refer to this
website:
http://torrent.fedoraproject.org/
PPC Installation Notes
The DVD or first CD of the installation set of Fedora Core is set to
be bootable on the Apple® Macintosh and should boot the appropriate
32-bit or 64-bit installer. In addition, bootable CD images can be
found in the images/ directory of the DVD or first CD. Choose the
appropriate boot.iso according to the hardware:
* images/mac/boot.iso - 32-bit Apple® Macintosh (G3/G4)
* images/mac64/boot.iso - 64-bit Apple® Macintosh (G5)
* images/pseries/boot.iso - 64-bit IBM® eServer™ pSeries™
(POWER4/POWER5)
* Power management support, including sleep and backlight level
management, is present in the apmud package, which is in Fedora
Extras. Fedora Extras for Fedora Core is configured by default
for yum. Following installation, apmud can be installed by
running yum install apmud.
Anaconda Notes
* The Fedora Core installation program has the ability to test the
integrity of the installation media. It works with the CD, DVD,
hard drive ISO, and NFS ISO installation methods. Red Hat
recommends that you test all installation media before starting
the installation process, and before reporting any
installation-related bugs (many of the bugs reported are
actually due to improperly-burned CDs). To use this test, type
linux mediacheck at the boot: prompt.
The mediacheck function is highly sensitive, and may report some
usable discs as faulty. This result is often caused by disc
writing software that does not include padding when creating
discs from ISO files. For best results with the mediacheck, boot
with the option:
linux ide=nodma
Use the sha1sum utility to verify discs before carrying out an
installation. This test accurately identifies discs that are not
valid or identical to the ISO image files.
* Memory testing may be performed prior to installing Fedora Core
by entering memtest86 at the boot: prompt. This causes the
Memtest86 standalone memory testing software to run. Memtest86
memory testing continues until the Esc key is pressed.
NOTE: You must boot from CD-ROM 1 (or a rescue CD-ROM) in order
to use this feature.
* Fedora Core 4 supports graphical FTP and HTTP installations.
However, due to the necessity of containing the installer image
in RAM, only systems with more than 128MB of RAM (or systems
booted from CD-ROM 1, which contains the installer image) can
use the graphical installer. Systems with 128MB or less will
continue to use the text-based installer.
Installation-Related Issues
* Certain hardware configurations (particularly those with LCD
displays) may experience problems while starting the Fedora Core
installation program. In these instances, restart the
installation, and add the "nofb" option to the boot command
line.
Note
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean graphical installations started
using the "nofb" option will start in English, and then switch
to the appropriate language once the graphical phase of the
installation process begins.
* Some Sony VAIO® notebook systems may experience problems
installing Fedora Core from CD-ROM. If this happens, restart the
installation process and add the following option to the boot
command line:
pci=off ide1=0x180,0x386
This option allows the installation to proceed normally; any
devices not detected due to the use of this option will be
configured the first time Fedora Core is booted.
* Serial mice are known to be inoperative during installation.
However, there are indications that serial mice work properly in
X after the installation has completed. Refer to bug 119474 for
more information:
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=119474
* There have been issues observed when upgrading Red Hat Linux
7.<x>, 8.0, 9, and Fedora Core 1, 2, and 3 systems where third
party packages are installed that conflict with packages
provided by Fedora Project. One example is Ximian GNOME.
The issue with Ximian GNOME is caused by version overlap between
the official Red Hat Linux RPMs (or the ones from the Fedora
Project) and the Ximian RPMs. This configuration is not
supported. You have several choices in resolving this particular
issue:
1. 1) You may remove Ximian GNOME from your system prior to
upgrading to Fedora Core.
2. 2) You may upgrade your system, and then immediately
reinstall Ximian GNOME.
3. 3) You may upgrade your system, and then immediately remove
all remaining Ximian RPMs, replacing them with the
corresponding Fedora Core RPMs.
You must resolve the version overlap using one of the above
choices. Failure to do so will result in an unstable GNOME
configuration.
Package-Specific Notes
The following sections contain information regarding packages that
have undergone significant changes for Fedora Core 4. For easier
access, they are organized using the same groups used in Anaconda.
Basic Components
This section contains information related to basic system
components.
Fedora Extras Repository
Fedora Extras is part of the larger Fedora Project and is a
volunteer-based community effort to create a repository of packages
that compliment Fedora Core. The Fedora Extras repository is enabled
by default from Fedora Core 4 onwards.
You can lean more about Fedora Extras from:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras
If you would like to install any software available from Fedora
extras you can use yum.
yum install <packagename>
Where <packagename> is the name of the package you want to install.
For example, if you wanted to install the abiword package, the
command yum install abiword automatically installs the package and
all dependencies.
Audit Daemon auditd and Log Files
The audit daemon, auditd, is now enabled by default. When auditd is
running, the kernel directs audit messages to
/var/log/audit/audit.log. The location of this file is specified in
/etc/auditd.conf.
AVC messages for SELinux are sent using the audit infrastructure.
These messages are now in /var/log/audit/audit.log.
When auditd is not running, the kernel passes audit messages to
syslog. These logs are typically kept in /var/log/messages and are
viewable using dmesg.
Audit extensions are now compiled into PAM. All programs that do
grant entry to the system or change user account attributes will
generate an audit message.
To enable auditing within the kernel, you must pass the parameter
audit=1 to the kernel during boot. Otherwise, you can use this
command to enable auditing during run time:
auditctl -e 1
LinuxThreads versus NPTL
As the next step in removing support for the obsolete LinuxThreads
library, code compiled and linked on Fedora Core 4 now automatically
uses the NPTL headers and libraries.
In previous releases since Red Hat Linux 9, the default threading
was LinuxThreads since the interface is mostly forward compatible.
The advantages of the NPTL interface is that the cancellation
handling is faster (when -fexception is used, even in C code) and
that the additional interfaces are now available without special
compiler and linker parameters. In other words, you do not need to
use -I/usr/include/nptl and -L/usr/lib{,64}/nptl any longer. Note
that lib{,64} is to be interpreted as lib64 on platforms which place
DSOs in lib64/ directories, and lib/ otherwise.
In Fedora Core 4 it is still possible to create code using the
LinuxThreads definitions. For this the linuxthreads-devel package
must be installed and
-I/usr/include/linuxthreads -L/usr/lib{,64}/linuxthreads
must be passed to the compiler.
Previously, you could select the version of glibc and the
libpgthread DSH using run time environment variables. You now need
to also specify this variable in the environment:
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/lib{,64}/obsolete/linuxthreads
This additional variables is required because the run/time libraries
have been moved out of the way. There might programs that will not
work if the program uses an unfortunate DT_RPATH (which overwrites
the LD_LIBRARY_PATH setting).
All this makes it more cumbersome to run programs which depend on
LinuxThreads. But this is intentional.
Important
FC5 will not have LinuxThreads support and all programs have to be
converted to use NPTL by then.
In general, conversion to using NPTL has not been an issue.
Enabling the slocate Database
The database needed by the locate utility is no longer created by
default. Enable the database creation by setting DAILY_UPDATE to yes
in /etc/updatedb.conf if you want to use locate.
Stricter Controls in openssh
The version of OpenSSH in Fedora Core 4 is based on OpenSSH 3.9 and
includes strict permission and ownership checks for the user
configuration file ~/.ssh/config. If this file does not have
appropriate ownership and permissions, ssh will exit.
Check that ~/.ssh/config is owned by the owner of ~/, and that its
permissions are set to mode 600.
ls -l ~/.ssh/config
-rw------- 1 username username 400 May 5 18:44 /home/username/.ssh/co
nfig
The directory ~/ is command-line shorthand for the logged in user's
home directory, usually /home/username/.
In addition, OpenSSH is no longer configured to request X11
forwarding by default when connecting to servers. To enable X11
forwarding, the -X or -Y option must be specified, or the ForwardX11
option must be enabled in the ~/.ssh/config file.
The behavior of ssh clients that are invoked with the -X option has
changed. In OpenSSH 3.8 and later, X11 forwarding is performed in a
way that applications run as untrusted clients by default.
Previously, X11 forwarding was performed so that applications always
ran as trusted clients. Some applications may not function properly
when run as untrusted clients. To forward X11 so that applications
are run as trusted clients, invoke ssh with the -Y option instead of
the -X option, or set ForwardX11Trusted in the ~/.ssh/config file.
Perl Binary Compat Symlinks
Binary compat symlinks for perl-5.8.0, perl-5.8.1, and perl-5.8.2
have been removed. If you have perl modules built with those older
versions of perl, you need to rebuild using the perl-5.8.6 contained
in Fedora Core 4.
Server and System Configuration Tools
This section highlights changes and additions to the various GUI
server and system configuration tools in Fedora Core.
system-config-lvm
The new LVM tool system-config-lvm assists you in managing logical
volumes.
Java Package Recommendations
Fedora Core 4 users are advised not to use the Java RPM provided by
Sun. It contains Provides that conflict with names used in packages
provided as part of Fedora Core 4. Because of this, Sun Java might
disappear from an installed system during package upgrade
operations.
Fedora Core 4 users should use either the RPM from jpackage.org or
manually install the Sun Java tarball into /opt. Sun Java 1.5+ is
recommended for stability purposes.
Core
This section contains the most elemental components of Fedora Core,
including the kernel.
yum
The sqllite database is now used by yum, and makes performance
noticeably faster.
The Fedora Extras repository is now enabled by default.
Linux Kernel
Version
The Fedora Core is based on a 2.6.11 kernel. Fedora Core may include
additional patches for improvements, bug fixes, or additional
features. For this reason, the Fedora Core kernel may not be
line-for-line equivalent to the so-called vanilla kernel from the
kernel.org web site.
You may obtain a list of any such patches by using the command on
the Fedora Core package:
$ rpm -qpl kernel-<version>.src.rpm
Kernel Flavors
Fedora Core includes the following kernel builds:
* Native kernel, in both uniprocessor and SMP varieties.
Configured sources are available in the
kernel-devel-<version>.<arch>.rpm package.
* Virtual kernel for use with the XEN emulator package.
Configured sources are available in the
kernel-xen0-devel-<version>.<arch>.rpm package.
Sources for both kernel flavors may be installed at the same time.
The files will be installed into the
/usr/src/kernels/<version>[-xen0]-<arch>/ tree. Use the command:
# rpm -Uvh kernel-devel[-xen0]-<version>.<arch>.rpm
as appropriate.
Following Generic Textbooks
Many of the tutorials, examples, and textbooks about Linux kernel
development assume the kernel sources are installed under the
/usr/src/linux directory. If you make a symbolic link, as shown
below, you should be able to use those learning materials with the
Fedora Core packages. Install the appropriate kernel sources, as
shown earlier, and then:
# ln -s /usr/src/kernels/kernel-<all-the-rest> /usr/src/linux
Preparing for Kernel Development
Fedora Core 4 does not include the kernel-source package provided by
older versions. Instead, configured sources are available as
described in the section called “Kernel Flavors”. Users that require
access to Fedora Core original kernel sources can find them in the
kernel .src.rpm package. To create an exploded source tree from this
file, perform the following steps:
These Instructions Refer The Currently-running Kernel!
To simplify the following directions, we have assumed that you want
to configure the kernel sources to match your currently-running
kernel. In the steps below, you must understand that the phrase
<version> refers to the kernel version shown by the:
$ uname -r
command.
1. Obtain the kernel-<version>.src.rpm file from one of the
following sources:
+ The SRPMS directory on the appropriate SRPMS CD iso image.
+ The FTP site where you got the kernel package.
+ By running the following command:
# up2date --get-source kernel
2. Install kernel-<version>.src.rpm using the command:
# rpm -Uvh kernel-<version>.src.rpm
This writes the RPM contents into /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES and
/usr/src/redhat/SPECS.
3. Prepare the kernel sources using the commands:
# cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS
# rpmbuild -bp --target $(arch) kernel.spec
The kernel source tree will be located in the
/usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-<version> directory. It is common
practice to move the resulting linux-<version> directory to the
/usr/src tree; while not strictly necessary, we suggest that you
do this to match the generally-available documentation.
# cd /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-<version> /usr/src/
# mv linux-<version> /usr/src/
# cd /usr/src
# ln -s ./linux-<version> linux
# cd /usr/src/linux
4. The configurations for the specific kernels shipped in Fedora
Core 4 are in the configs/ directory. For example, the i686 SMP
configuration file is named
configs/kernel-<version>-i686-smp.config. Issue the following
command to place the desired configuration file in the proper
place for building:
# cp configs/<desired-config-file> .config
5. Issue the following command:
# make oldconfig
You can then proceed as usual.
Building Only Kernel Modules
An exploded source tree is not required to build a kernel module,
such as your own device driver, against the currently in-use kernel.
For example, to build the foo.ko module, create the following
Makefile in the directory containing the foo.c file:
obj-m := foo.o
KDIR := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD := $(shell pwd)
default:
$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
Issue the make command to build the foo.ko module.
Userspace Dependancies on the Kernel
Fedora Core adds support for clustered systems. This requires a
special kernel that works in conjunction with some user-space
utilities, such as management daemons. Consequently, to remove such
a kernel, perhaps after an update, you cannot simply use the rpm -e
kernel-<version> command as in earlier distributions because these
userspace packages depend on the kernel package. You may either list
both the kernel package and its userspace dependant packages on the
rpm -e command, or you may wish to use the yum remove
kernel-<version> command instead since yum automatically removes
dependant packages if necesssary.
Security
This section highlights various security items from Fedora Core.
Digital Certificates Consolidated
Digital certificates are now centralised in directories under
/etc/pki/. Users performing an upgrade must relocate their digital
certificates.
OpenSSL: the /usr/share/ssl contents have moved to /etc/pki/tls and
/etc/pki/CA.
Dovecot: A dovecot-openssl.cnf file is automatically installed in
/etc/pki/dovecot/.
Development Tools
GCC Compiler Collection
Fedora Core 4 has been built using GCC 4.0, which is included with
the distribution.
Caveats
* GDB 6.1 or newer is needed to debug binaries unless compiled
using the -fno-var-tracking compilation option.
* The -fwritable-strings option is no longer accepted.
* English-language diagnostic messages now use Unicode quotes; if
you cannot read this, set your LC_CTYPE environment variable to
"C" or change your terminal emulator.
* The specs file is no longer installed on most systems. Ordinary
users will not notice, but developers who need to alter the file
can use the -dumpspecs option to generate the file for editing.
Code Generation
* The SSA code optimizer is now included and brings with it better
constant propagation; partial redundancy elimination; load and
store code motion; strength reduction; dead storage elimination;
better detection of unreachable code; and tail recursion by
accumulation.
* Autovectorization is supported. This technique achieves higher
performance for repetitive loop code, in some circumstances.
Language Extentions
* A sentinel attribute has been added so that the compiler will
now issue a warning if a function such as execl(char *path,
const char *arg, ...), which requires a NULL list terminator is
missing the NULL.
* The cast-as-lvalue, conditional-expression-as-lvalue, and
compund-expression-as-lvalue extentions have been removed.
* The #pragma pack() semantics have been brought closer to those
used by other compilers.
* Taking the address of a variable declared with the register
modifier now generates an error instead of a warning.
* Arrays of incomplete element types now generate an error. This
implies no forward reference to structure definitions.
* The basic compiler, without any optimization (-O0), has been
measured as much as 25% faster in real-world code.
* Libraries may now contain function-scope static variables in
multi-threaded programs. The -fno-threadsafe-statics can be used
by embedded developers to turn off this feature, but ordinary
users should never do this.
Java
* To avoid naming conflicts: rmic is now grmic; rmiregistry is now
grmiregistry; and jar is now fastjar.
* The GCJ compiler can now be used as a just-in-time (JIT) tool by
using the gnu.jit facilities.
* More support of the AWT and SWING packages have been added.
FORTRAN
* The GNU FORTRAN 77 front end has been replaced by a new FORTRAN
90/95 recognizer.
Eclipse Development Environment
* Eclipse 3.1M6 has been compiled as a native application.
* The C Development Tool (CDT) has been included.
Language Support
This section includes information related to the support of various
languages under Fedora Core.
The IIIMF Input System
IIIMF is the Internet/Intranet Input Method Framework. In Fedora
Core 4 the iiimf package is updated to version 12.2.
File Path Changes
The names and locations of some files in the iiimf packages
have changed.
The IIIMF server has been renamed from /usr/sbin/htt to
/usr/bin/iiimd, and the XIM bridge client renamed from httx
to iiimx. The init.d script name has not changed: it is still
called iiim. All the global system configuration files are
now located under /etc/iiim/.
Language Engine (LE) developers should note that LE modules
and their data now live under ${libdir}/iiim/le/<LE_NAME>/,
while runtime data is stored under
/var/lib/iiim/le/<LE_NAME>/.
For more information on the exact path and file location
changes, please refer to Fedora IIIMF FAQ:
http://www.fedora.redhat.com/projects/i18n/iiimf-faq.html.
Hotkeys
Trigger keys, such as Ctrl-Space used to activate Input
Methods, are now configurable with the command-line tool
iiimf-le-tools. This feature is only supported by GTK2
applications currently. For other applications using XIM the
trigger key can be changed using an X resource. Refer to the
IIIMF FAQ at
http://www.fedora.redhat.com/projects/i18n/iiimf-faq.htmlfor
more details on how to change trigger hotkeys.
Note that the keyname refers to the X key symbol name. For
example, if you want to activate with Ctrl-@, you need to
specify '<Control>at' as the keyname not '<Control>@'.
The per-user configuration of hotkeys does not work currently
with SELinux in enforcing mode due to lack of SELinux policy.
In this case, the hotkey can only be changed in the
system-wide configuration.
Qt Support
A Qt immodule for iiimf is now included. This immodule works
but lacks a status window and is considered experimental.
Therefore, the default for Qt applications is to continue
using XIM for IIMF input.
If you wish to try the immodule in a Qt application, first
install the iiimf-qt package, start the application, then
click mouse button-3 in an input area and select iiimqcf from
the Select Input Method' submenu.
Multimedia
This section contains information related to multimedia
applications.
Web Servers
This section contains information on Web-related applications.
mod_perl
The RC5 release of mod_perl 2.0 is now included. The API provided by
this release is incompatible with previous 1.99_xx releases. Please
refer to the following document for a discussion of how to adapt
code to use the new API:
http://perl.apache.org/docs/2.0/rename.html
php
Version 5.0 of PHP is now included, which includes a number of
changes to the language along with significant performance
improvements. Please refer to the PHP documentation for more
information on migrating from PHP 4.3 to PHP 5.0:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/migration5.php
The /usr/bin/php binary is now built using the CLI command-line
SAPI, rather than the CGI SAPI. Use /usr/bin/php-cgi for CGI SAPI.
The php-cgi also includes FastCGI support.
The following extensions have been added:
* The mysqli extension, a new interface designed specifically for
MySQL 4.1. This is included in the php-mysql package.
* The soap extension, for implementing SOAP clients and servers.
The following extensions are now available as optional loadable
extensions, rather than being built in to the PHP binaries:
* The dba extension, now available in the php-dba package
* The bcmath extension, now available in the php-bcmath package
Samba (Windows Compatibility)
This section contains information related to Samba, the suite of
software that enables Linux to interact with Microsoft Windows
systems.
Browsing of Windows shares (also known as SMB browsing) fails on
Fedora Core 4 systems that have the standard firewall configured.
This is most easily noticed in the failure of the desktop to display
shares.
The firewall disrupts the broadcast mode of SMB browsing, which is
the default. There are two workarounds:
* Configure a WINS server on the network, and set the "wins
server" option in smb.conf to the address of the WINS server.
* Disable the firewall.
Disabling the firewall may make your system vulnerable
Make sure you fully understand the risks before undertaking this
step.
For additional information, refer to the following bug report:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=133478
X Window System (Graphics)
This section contains information related to the X Window System
implementation provided with Fedora Core.
xorg-x11
Users new to the X.org X11 implementation should take note of a few
differences between it and the XFree86.org X11 implementation which
shipped in previous Red Hat operating systems. In particular, the
names of some files have changed:
X Server Binary:
* XFree86 X11: XFree86
* X.org X11: Xorg
X Server Configuration File:
* XFree86 X11: /etc/X11/XF86Config
* X.org X11: /etc/X11/xorg.conf
X Server Log File:
* XFree86 X11: /var/log/XFree86.$DISPLAY.log
* X.org X11: /var/log/Xorg.$DISPLAY.log
When configuring or troubleshooting your X server configuration, be
sure that you are using the correct files.
There has been some confusion regarding font-related issues under
the X Window System in recent versions of Fedora Core (and versions
of Red Hat Linux before it.) At the present time, there are two font
subsystems, each with different characteristics:
* The original (15+ year old) subsystem is referred to as the
"core X font subsystem". Fonts rendered by this subsystem are
not anti-aliased, are handled by the X server, and have names
like: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--10-100-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1
* The newer font subsystem is known as "fontconfig", and allows
applications direct access to the font files. Fontconfig is
often used along with the Xft library, which allows applications
to render fontconfig fonts to the screen with antialiasing.
Fontconfig uses more human-friendly names such as: Luxi Sans-10
Over time, fontconfig and Xft will replace the core X font
subsystem. At the present time, applications using the Qt 3 or GTK 2
toolkits (which would include KDE and GNOME applications) use the
fontconfig and Xft font subsystem; most everything else uses the
core X fonts.
In the future, Fedora Core may support only fontconfig/Xft in place
of the XFS font server as the default local font access method.
Note
An exception to the font subsystem usage outlined above is
OpenOffice.org (which uses its own font rendering technology).
If you wish to add new fonts to your Fedora Core 4 system, you must
be aware that the steps necessary depend on which font subsystem is
to use the new fonts. For the core X font subsystem, you must:
1. Create the /usr/share/fonts/local/ directory (if it doesn't
already exist):
mkdir /usr/share/fonts/local/
2. Copy the new font file into /usr/share/fonts/local/
3. Update the font information by issuing the following commands
(note that, due to formatting restrictions, the following
commands may appear on more than one line; in use, each command
should be entered on a single line):
ttmkfdir -d /usr/share/fonts/local/ -o /usr/share/fonts/local/fonts.sca
le
mkfontdir /usr/share/fonts/local/
4. If you had to create /usr/share/fonts/local/, you must then add
it to the X font server (xfs) path:
chkfontpath --add /usr/share/fonts/local/
Adding new fonts to the fontconfig font subsystem is more
straightforward; the new font file only needs to be copied into the
/usr/share/fonts/ directory (individual users can modify their
personal font configuration by copying the font file into the
~/.fonts/ directory).
After the new font has been copied, use fc-cache to update the font
information cache:
fc-cache <directory>
(Where <directory> would be either the /usr/share/fonts/ or
~/.fonts/ directories.)
Individual users may also install fonts graphically, by browsing
fonts:/// in Nautilus, and dragging the new font files there.
Note
If the font filename ends with ".gz", it has been compressed with
gzip, and must be decompressed (with the gunzip command) before the
fontconfig font subsystem can use the font.
Due to the transition to the new font system based on
fontconfig/Xft, GTK+ 1.2 applications are not affected by any
changes made via the Font Preferences dialog. For these
applications, a font can be configured by adding the following lines
to the file ~/.gtkrc.mine:
style "user-font" {
fontset = "<font-specification>"
}
widget_class "*" style "user-font"
(Where <font-specification> represents a font specification in the
style used by traditional X applications, such as
"-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".)
Packages Movement
Packages Moved to Fedora Extras
These are some of the packages that have moved from Core to Fedora
Extras. These are active packages that are maintained and supported
by the Fedora Project. If you are looking for information about
Extras, refer to this URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras
List is Incomplete
This list highlights some of the major packages that moved from Core
to Extras between Fedora Core 3 and Fedora Core 4. This is not a
complete list.
* abiword
* aiksaurus
* balsa
* bzflag
* cyrus-imapd
* dbh
* dietlibc
* exim
* freeciv
* gnuchess
* gnumeric
* grip
* jed
* lapack
* libgda
* libgnomedb
* libtabe
* libxfce4mcs
* libxfce4util
* libxfcegui
* Maelstrom
* ncftp
* ots
* recode
* SDL_image
* SDL_mixer
* SDL_net
* sylpheed
* system-switch-im
* xboard
* xcin
* xemacs
* xemacs-sumo
* xfce4-iconbox
* xfce4-panel
* xfce4-systray
* xfce-mcs-manager
* xfce-mcs-plugins
* xfce-utils
* xfdesktop
* xffm
* xffm-icons
* xfprint
* xfwm4
* xmms
An Overview of the Fedora Project
The goal of the Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community
to build a complete, general-purpose operating system exclusively
from open source software. Development is done in a public forum.
The project produces time-based releases of Fedora Core
approximately 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule. The
Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in building
Fedora Core and will invite and encourage more outside participation
than was possible in the past. By using this more open process, we
hope to provide an operating system more in line with the ideals of
free software and more appealing to the open source community.
For more information, refer to the Fedora Project website:
http://fedora.redhat.com/
In addition to the website, the following mailing lists are
available:
* fedora-list@redhat.com — For users of Fedora Core releases
* fedora-test-list@redhat.com — For testers of Fedora Core test
releases
* fedora-devel-list@redhat.com — For developers, developers,
developers
* fedora-docs-list@redhat.com — For participants of the docs
project
To subscribe to any of these lists, send an email with the word
"subscribe" in the subject to <listname>-request (where <listname>
is one of the above list names.)
Alternately, you can subscribe through the Web interface:
http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/
If you have subscribed in the past to rhl-list, rhl-beta-list,
rhl-devel-list, or rhl-docs-list, your subscriptions have been
retained.
The Fedora Project also includes an IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
channel. IRC is a real-time, text-based form of communication. With
it, you can have conversations with multiple people in an open
channel or chat with someone privately one-on-one.
To talk with other Fedora Project participants via IRC, access
freenode IRC network. Initially, you can use irc.freenode.net as the
IRC server, although you may decide to select a server that is
geographically closer to you. Refer to the freenode website
(http://www.freenode.net/) for more information. Fedora Project
participants frequent the #fedora channel, while Fedora Project
developers can often be found on the #fedora-devel channel. Some of
the larger projects may have their own channels as well; this
information can be found on the project pages.
In order to talk on the #fedora channel, you will need to register
your nickname (nick). Instructions are given when you /join the
channel.
Note
Red Hat has no control over the Fedora Project IRC channels or their
content.