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DistributionsNews and Editorials Debian multiarch support Multiarch is a concept that involves the ability to run binaries compiled on one architecture on machines with a different architecture. For example, an amd64 system Linux system would be able to run the same binary programs that run on an i386 Linux system. This idea has been talked about by a few Debian developers for at least a couple of years.This week Matt Taggart posted an update on the Debian-devel mailing list, with a pointer to a wiki where information and status is being tracked, and a pointer to a report (PDF) entitled Multi-Arch Implementation Strategy, prepared for HP by Canonical Ltd. What follows is a summary of the report. The report looks at various ways to extend Debian (and derived systems) to provide multiarch support. Implementation strategies will be tested during the upcoming Ubuntu Eft development cycle and, hopefully, be deployed in the Debian etch release. The primary problem with multiarch support is in shared libraries normally located in the /usr/lib directory. These libraries are shared by many binary programs and they may also contain architecture specific information. For example, and an AMD64 library would specify such things as address space, calling conventions, word and data sizes, and other information that would not allow a program to load on i386 system. The currently favored solution is to move the libraries into arch-named subdirectories under /usr/lib. This would allow the binary package to link to the correct architecture specific library. Another problem is in the architecture dependent binaries in /usr/bin and /usr/sbin. An openssl binary complied for the i386 architecture might run quite well on an amd64 system, but that amd64 system can't have the native version of openssl installed at the same time unless the system administrator put the package in /opt or /usr/local. The proposed location for all architecture-independent binaries is under /usr/share. When creating shared libraries, developers should keep separate the architecture-dependent files from the architecture-independent files and avoid hard coding the paths to architecture-dependent files. This will avoid naming conflicts, save space, and allow the architecture-dependent files to moved or renamed as needed. Ideally a multiarch system should not need special packages and should not waste disk space unnecessarily. Package maintainers and system administrators should not need to know more or do more to make the system work. Configuration files should be easily shared by multiple systems. In the long term upstream developers will need to be retrained to write code that can be more easily shared. In the short term, chroots should be used when installing software from multiple architectures. Environment packages, multiple binary production and automated package rewriting could also help in the short term. An attempt to get OpenOffice.org 2 running on a multiarch system was used as a feasibility study. While it would be highly desirable to have a multiarch OOo, it was not designed that way and numerous problems were encountered in the process. Ultimately they recommend that multiarch support be built into the package manager. While rewriting massive amounts of existing code is not really feasible, new developers would do well to keep multiarch guidelines in mind when creating new packages and libraries.
New Releases SUSE Linux 10.1 Released Version 10.1 of SUSE Linux has been announced. "As usual, we ship all the latest open source packages available at the time. But we want to give special mention to Xgl for 3D acceleration on the desktop (http://www.opensuse.org/xgl), NetworkManager for getting painless wifi access everywhere, the completely open source AppArmor 2.0, and the full integration of XEN 3 in YaST."
rPath Linux 1.0.2 available for x86 and x86_64 rpath Linux has released refreshed ISO images. "These images include all updates through and including updates released on 8 May 2006. If you have already installed rPath Linux 1, you should update your current system using Conary rather than reinstall using the new images."
Puppy Linux 1.09 Community Edition Puppy Linux has released 1.09 Community Edition.
EasyUbuntu "It's all new!" 3 Released! The EasyUbuntu Team has announced the release of EasyUbuntu 3. "EasyUbuntu 3 is the culmination of 6 months of hard work which will bring a tool to the new Ubuntu user. With no prior Linux experiance, this tool will let you install commonly requested tweaks, and a selection of restricted codecs."
Aurox Live Generator Aurox, a Fedora-based distribution created in Poland, has announced Live-Generator. "Live-Generator is an integrated pack of scripts for building custom LiveCD distributions based on Aurox Linux. Usage is very simple: user must fill-in the config file (for custom wallpaper, bootsplash, etc.) located in the main Live-Generator directory and run 'generate-live'."
Distribution News Bits from the DPL: Partners and Debian Anthony Towns looks at Debian's partners. "So the point of this mail is to encourage everyone to think about ways in which we can help organisations that would like to be our partners work better with us. Because that's harder than it sounds..."
Testing security archive move The Debian testing security team has announced the integration of the secure testing to the main archive. "We invite Debian users who are currently running testing, or who would like to switch to testing, to subscribe to the secure-testing-announce mailing list, which will be used to announce security updates."
Debian etch transitions Martin Michlmayr reports on possibility of moving to GCC 4.1 for the etch release. "In summary, there are ~140 bugs that need to be fixed in the next few weeks. If you're the maintainer of a package that does not build with GCC 4.1, please investigate this issue. If you're interested in this transition, please consider submitting bugs and doing NMUs."Michael Koch looks at a GCJ 4.1 transition. "The Debian Java Team wants to switch the default version gcj/gij to point to the according 4.1 version. After that is done all GCJ 4.0 packages will be removed from unstable. Most packages should just need a simple rebuild. Packages building a native JNI library will need some manual action as long as gcc-4.1/g++-4.1 are not the default compilers. The problems are JNI include files which are located in a compiler specific directory. To make your packages build please add -I/usr/lib/jvm/java-gcj/include to your compiler flags."
Bits from the 2IC Steve McIntyre reports on his activities as a duly appointed DPL delegate, with a look at the current status of Google Summer of Code applications and projects, moving irc.debian.org away from Freenode, praise for the debian-installer team, and several other topics.
Sun Java available from non-free Official packages of Sun Java are now available from the non-free section of Debian unstable. This license, while still non-free, allows the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) to be distributed by Debian.
For those who care about Debconf but couldn't make it Ben Hutchings reports that live video feeds are available for at least parts of Debconf. The recordings will also be available in various formats later on.
Fedora Core package cleanup project Will Woods reports on the Fedora Core package cleanup project. "In the past, Core packages have not been held to the same standards as Extras. We want to fix this! We're starting by cleaning up the spec files so that Core packages can all be built using Mock. (If you aren't familiar with Mock, it's a cool RPM build tool that we use to build Fedora Extras.) This is where you come in: We need people to attempt Mock builds of Fedora Core packages, and file bugs when they find packages that don't build."
Unofficial Fedora FAQ Update: 2006-05-11 The Unofficial Fedora FAQ has gotten another update, incorporating various bits of feedback and improvements to the FAQ. "This is mostly a "polish" update, making everything shiny and bright, and revising the instructions to work the best possible."
Discontinued SUSE Linux Distribution: 9.1 SUSE Security has announced that SUSE Linux 9.1 (Personal and Professional edition) will be discontinued soon. Having provided security-relevant fixes for more than two years, vulnerabilities found in SUSE Linux 9.1 after June 15, 2006 will not be fixed.
Daily language pack builds for Ubuntu Martin Pitt notes that the Rosetta translation export has become reasonably stable.. " so today I set up the generation and building of language packs to happen fully automatic now. Every day around 1600 UTC, a complete set of fresh uploadable sources will be available, and installable debs will be built for some languages."
Distribution Newsletters Debian Weekly News The Debian Weekly News for May 16 is out. This week's topics include preseeding, multiarch status, moving to gcc 4.1, DebConf6, and more.
Fedora Weekly News Issue 46 This week the Fedora Weekly News looks at the Fedora Core package cleanup project, the Fedora Project Board Update 2006-05-09, Dan Walsh: SELinux Tutorials, Dee-Ann LeBlanc: Mono-Based Applications in FC5, India lays down 'open' challenge, ATI: Open v. Closed Drivers, an updated FC5 Network Install, Henry’s Fedora Core 5 Install Guide, and more.
Gentoo Weekly Newsletter The Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of May 15, 2006 covers Portage module removal, GWN translations, Gentoo events in Italy, Austria and Norway, and several other topics.
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 151 The DistroWatch Weekly for May 15, 2006 is out. "With a successful SUSE Linux 10.1 release freshly behind us, the attention of distribution watchers can once again turn to Ubuntu, as the project's final two weeks of "Dapper" development focuses on bug fixes and polish. Has Kororaa broken the GPL by including proprietary kernel modules on their live CD? Nobody knows for sure, but even if it hasn't, the controversy means that the project's developers might stop all work on their Xgl edition. Also in this issue: a list of the least popular distributions as determined by our page hit statistics, an interesting new job for Marcelo Tosatti, and a look inside the latest issue of Linux Format. Finally, an opinion piece by Robert Storey about the latest privacy violations by major US telephone and cable corporations."
Package updates Fedora updates Updates for Fedora Core 5: NetworkManager (update to latest 0.6.2 stable), wpa_supplicant (bug fixes), sane-backends (add support for Canon Lide 60 scanner), nmap (update to 4.03), tzdata (upstream 2006g), beagle (update to 0.2.6), vnc (bug fixes), kdelibs (bug fixes), kdepim (bug fixes), glibc (update from CVS), selinux-policy (bump for FC5), dosfstools (bug fix), kdebase (add missing kcheckpass), cups (update to CUPS 1.2.0), hplip (update to 0.9.11), libstdc++so7 (bug fix for ppc), php-pear (update to 1.4.9)Updates for Fedora Core 4: nmap (update to 4.03), tzdata (upstream 2006g), spamassassin (bug fixes), kdepim (bug fixes)
Trustix Secure Linux Trustix Secure Linux has updated vim to the new upstream version which adds spell checking support for about 50 languages, intelligent completion and more.
Miscellaneous Articles Puppy Linux founder comments on the OLPC project (DesktopLinux.com) DesktopLinux looks at the suitability of Puppy Linux for the One Laptop Per Child project. "Because the OLPC spec calls for 128MB of system DRAM and Puppy Linux weighs in at only around 60MB of memory footprint, [Puppy founder Barry] Kauler and a number of Puppy enthusiasts believe it is the right distro for the project. "Puppy is designed for this kind of situation from the ground-up," writes Kauler. "Extremely fast, very small footprint, a full set of applications, limited writes to flash [storage memory] to extend its life indefinitely. There are no compromises -- if you have read commentary about the OLPC project from various sources, you would think that an operating system and applications squeezed into such a minimal system would be severely compromised. Not so.""
Distribution reviews My desktop OS: Arch Linux (NewsForge) NewsForge hears from an Arch Linux fan. "Arch Linux is a bleeding-edge distribution built from the ground up using Linux From Scratch as a base with a driving philosophy: keep it simple. However, I've come to learn that simple doesn't mean easy. The Arch Linux definition of simple means that GUI tools should not hinder the full capability of individual software packages. This philosophy engenders a minimalist approach, and Arch clearly defines itself as targeted to "competent Linux users." However, don't let this phrase scare you off. There exist plenty of well-written documents on the ArchLinux wiki and forums to help you out, as well as a wonderful community to aid and assist you if all else fails."
Gentoo 2006.0: Elbow grease required (Linux.com) Linux.com plows through a manual Gentoo install. "Installing Gentoo using the manual method described in the Gentoo Handbook is, to put it bluntly, a royal pain. It's a good hands-on experience if you're looking to learn about the nitty-gritty of system configuration, but a lousy way to install Linux quickly, and almost certain to be intimidating for anyone who's not well-versed with Linux already."
Using PC-BSD (O'ReillyNet) O'ReillyNet looks at PC-BSD. "While much of today's article will provide an introduction to what a novice BSD user can expect if they install PC-BSD, users already familiar with FreeBSD and the KDE desktop will still find some interesting features for dealing with ports, cvsup, and updates."
Ututo-e: 'The only free distribution' revisited (Linux.com) Linux.com reviews Ututo-e. "A year ago, I reviewed Ututo-e, an Argentinian distribution based on Gentoo. Ututo-e is known mainly as the only GNU/Linux distribution endorsed by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This endorsement is based on the fact that Ututo-e, in the words of Peter Brown of the FSF, "makes a commitment to follow the philosophy of the FSF as to what makes a distribution ethically free software." Last year, this endorsement seemed premature, because Ututo-e, while promising in some places, was buggy in many more. A year later, the 2006 release of Ututo-e is more polished, especially in its desktop and selection of administration tools, but its English version still falls below the standard of leading distributions such as Debian or Fedora Core."
Page editor: Rebecca Sobol |
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