Fedora Core 5.91 Release Notes

The current prelimenary release schedule of Fedora Core 6 is available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Core/Schedule.

This release, the second test release of Fedora Core 6, includes significant new versions of many key products and technologies. The following sections provide a brief overview of major changes from the last release of Fedora Core.

The proposed plans for the next release of Fedora are available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/RoadMap.

Refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DistributionUpgrades for detailed recommended procedures for upgrading Fedora.

In general, fresh installations are recommended over upgrades, particularly for systems which include software from third-party repositories. Third-party packages remaining from a previous installation may not work as expected on an upgraded Fedora system. If you decide to perform an upgrade anyway, the following information may be helpful.

	System Configuration Backups
	Backups of configurations in /etc are also useful in reconstructing system settings after a fresh installation.

This section covers any specific information you may need to know about Fedora Core and the PPC hardware platform.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

This section covers any specific information you may need to know about Fedora Core and the x86 hardware platform.

This section covers any specific information you may need to know about Fedora Core and the x86_64 hardware platform.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

	SMP Capabilities
	The default kernel in x86_64 architecture provides SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processor) capabilities to handle multiple CPUs efficiently. This architecture does not have a separate SMP kernel unlike x86 and PPC systems.

su -c 'yum install yum-utils' 

rpm -qa --queryformat "%{name}-%{version}-%{release}.%{arch}\n" 

%_query_all_fmt %%{name}-%%{version}-%%{release}.%%{arch}
	

This distribution is based on the 2.6 series of the Linux 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:

http://www.kernel.org/

To obtain a list of these patches, download the source RPM package and run the following command against it:

rpm -qpl kernel-<version>.src.rpm

To retrieve a log of changes to the package, run the following command:

rpm -q --changelog kernel-<version>

If you need a user friendly version of the changelog, refer to http://wiki.kernelnewbies.org/LinuxChanges. A short and full diff of the kernel is available from http://kernel.org/git. The Fedora version kernel is based on the Linus tree.

Customizations made for the Fedora version are available from http://cvs.fedora.redhat.com.

Fedora Core 6 test2 includes the following kernel builds:

You may install kernel headers for all kernel flavors at the same time. The files are installed in the /usr/src/kernels/version-[xen0|xenU|kdump]-arch/ tree. Use the following command:

su -c 'yum install kernel-{xen0,xenU,kdump}-devel'

Select one or more of these flavors, separated by commas and no spaces, as appropriate. Enter the root password when prompted.

	x86_64 Default Kernel Provides SMP
	There is no separate SMP kernel available for the x86_64 architecture in Fedora Core 6 test2.

	PowerPC Kernel Support
	There is no support for Xen or kdump for the PowerPC architecture in Fedora Core 6 test2.

Refer to http://kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/reporting-bugs.html for information on reporting bugs in the Linux kernel. You may also use http://bugzilla.redhat.com for reporting bugs which are specific to Fedora.

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 run the following command:

su -c 'ln -s /usr/src/kernels/kernel-all-the-rest /usr/src/linux'

Enter the root password when prompted.

Fedora Core 6 test2 does not include the kernel-source package provided by older versions since only the kernel-devel package is required now to build external modules. Configured sources are available, as described in this kernel flavors section.

	Instructions Refer to Current 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, the expression <version> refers to the kernel version shown by the command: uname -r.

Users who 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:

	Do Not Build Packages as Super-user (root)
	Building packages as the superuser is inherently dangerous and is not required, even for the kernel. These instructions allow you to install the kernel source as a normal user. Many general information sites refer to /usr/src/linux in their kernel instructions. If you use these instructions, simply substitute ~/rpmbuild/BUILD/kernel-<version>/linux-<version>.

An exploded source tree is not required to build a kernel module, such as your own device driver, against the currently in-use kernel. Only the kernel-devel package is required to build external modules. If you did not select it during installation, use Pirut to install it, going to Applications → Add/Remove Software or use yum to install it. Run the following command to install the kernel-devel package using yum.

su -c 'yum install kernel-devel' 

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.

Fedora Core 6 test2 has support for clustered storage through the Global File System (GFS). GFS requires special kernel modules that work in conjunction with some user-space utilities, such as management daemons. To remove such a kernel, perhaps after an update, use the su -c 'yum remove kernel-<version>' command instead. The yum command automatically removes dependent packages, if necessary.

Fedora Core 6 includes version 2.2 of the Apache HTTP Server. Users upgrading from version 2.0 (included in Fedora Core 4 and earlier) will need to make changes their httpd configuration; see http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/upgrading.html for more details.

This release of Fedora has been built with GCC 4.1, which is included with the distribution.

A general introduction to the many proactive security features in Fedora, current status and policies is available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Security.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

The SELinux project pages have troubleshooting tips, explanations, and pointers to documentation and references. Some useful links include the following:

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

This release of Fedora Core includes a preview release of gcjwebplugin, a Free Firefox plugin for Java applets. It is provided by the java-1.4.2-gcj-compat-plugin package, which is installed by default as part of the Internet group of packages. gcjwebplugin is still under active development and should not be used to load untrusted applets.

	Use gcjwebplugin with caution
	Before gcjwebplugin loads any applet, it displays a warning about the state of GNU Classpath's security implementation. The dialog allows you to cancel loading the applet, or to trust the applet and load it. If you do not want even this level of risk, you can remove the plugin entirely with this command: su -c 'yum remove java-1.4.2-gcj-compat-plugin'

In addition to the java-gcj-compat free software stack, Fedora Core lets you install multiple Java implementations and switch between them using the alternatives command line tool. However, every Java system you install must be packaged using the JPackage Project packaging guidelines to take advantage of alternatives. Once these packages are installed properly, the root user may switch between java and javac implementations using the alternatives command:

alternatives --config java alternatives --config javac 

Fedora Core includes many packages derived from the JPackage Project, which provides a Java software repository. These packages are modified in Fedora to remove proprietary software dependencies and to make use of GCJ's ahead-of-time compilation feature.

Use the Fedora repositories to update these packages, or use the JPackage repository for packages not provided by Fedora. Refer to the JPackage website at http://jpackage.org for more information on the project and the software it provides.

	Mixing Packages from Fedora and JPackage
	Research package compatibility before you install software from both the Fedora and JPackage repositories on the same system. Incompatible packages may cause complex issues.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

The default installation of Fedora Core includes Rhythmbox and Totem for media playback. The Fedora Core and Fedora Extras repositories include many other popular programs such as the XMMS player and KDE's amaroK. Both GNOME and KDE have a selection of players that can be used with a variety of formats. Third parties may offer additional programs to handle other formats.

Fedora Core also takes full advantage of the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) sound system. Many programs can play sound simultaneously, which was once difficult on Linux systems. When all multimedia software is configured to use ALSA for sound support, this limitation disappears. For more information about ALSA, visit the project website at http://www.alsa-project.org/. Users may still experience issues when multiple users log into the system. Depending upon hardware and software configurations, multiple users may not be able to use the sound hardware simultaneously.

Fedora includes complete support for the Ogg media container format and the Vorbis audio, Theora video, Speex audio and FLAC lossless audio formats. These freely-distributable formats are not encumbered by patent or license restrictions. They provide powerful and flexible alternatives to more popular, restricted formats. The Fedora Project encourages the use of open formats in place of restricted ones. For more information on these formats and how to use them, refer to the Xiph.Org Foundation's web site at http://www.xiph.org/.

Fedora Core and Fedora Extras software repositories cannot include support for MP3 or DVD video playback or recording. The MP3 formats are patented, and the patent holders have not provided the necessary patent licenses. DVD video formats are patented and equipped with an encryption scheme. The patent holders have not provided the necessary patent licenses, and the code needed to decrypt CSS-encrypted discs may violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a copyright law of the United States. Fedora also excludes other multimedia software due to patent, copyright or license restrictions, including Adobe's Flash Player and and Real Media's Real Player. For more on this subject, please refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ForbiddenItems.

While other MP3 options may be available for Fedora, Fluendo now offers an free MP3 plugin for GStreamer that has the necessary patent license for end users. This plugin will enable MP3 support in applications that use the GStreamer framework as a backend. Fedora does not include this plugin since we prefer to support and encourage the use of patent unrestricted open formats instead. For more information about the MP3 plugin, visit Fluendo's website at http://www.fluendo.com/.

Fedora Core and Fedora Extras software repositories includes a variety of tools for easily mastering and burning CDs and DVDs. GNOME users can burn directly from the Nautilus file manager, or choose the gnomebaker or graveman packages from Fedora Extras, or the older xcdroast package from Fedora Core. KDE users can use the robust k3b package, available in Fedora Extras, for these tasks. Console tools include cdrecord, readcd, mkisofs and other popular applications.

You can use Fedora to create and play back screencasts, which are recorded desktop sessions, using open technologies. Fedora Extras software repository includes istanbul, which creates screencasts using the Theora video format. These videos can be played back using one of several players included in Fedora Core. This is the preferred way to submit screencasts to the Fedora Project for either developer or end-user use. For a more comprehensive how-to, refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ScreenCasting.

Most of the media players in Fedora Core and Fedora Extras software repositories can use plugins to add support for additional media formats and sound output systems. Some use powerful multimedia frameworks, like the gstreamer package, to handle media format support and sound output. Fedora Core and Fedora Extras software repositories offer plugin packages for these backends and for individual applications. Third parties may provide additional plugins to add even greater capabilities.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

There are several types of virtualization: full virtualization, paravirtualization, and single kernel image virtualization. Under Fedora Core 6 test2 using Xen 3.0, paravirtualization is the most common type. With VM hardware, it is also possible to implement full virtualization.

Xen must be installed on the host OS and the host OS must be booted into the Hypervisor Kernel. Fedora Core 6 test2 includes an installation program for the guest OS that will use an existing installation tree of a paravirtualized-enabled OS to access that OS's existing installation program. Currently, Fedora Core 6 test2 is the only available paravirtualized-enabled guest OS. Other OSs can be installed using existing images, but not through the OS's native installation program.

This section has not been completed for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

Fedora now provides MySQL 5.0. For a list of the enhancements provided by this version, refer to http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/mysql-5-0-nutshell.html.

For more information on upgrading databases from previous releases of MySQL, refer to the MySQL web site at http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/upgrade.html.

This release of Fedora includes PostgreSQL 8.1. For more information on this new version, refer to http://www.postgresql.org/docs/whatsnew.

	Upgrading Databases
	Fedora Core 4 provided version 8.0 of PostgreSQL. If you upgrade an existing Fedora system with a PostgreSQL database, you must upgrade the database to access the data. To upgrade a database from a previous version of PostgreSQL, follow the procedure described at http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/interactive/install-upgrading.html.

This section has not been updated for Fedora Core 6 test2 by the beat writer.

The default SCIM (Simple Common Input Method) GTK Input Method Module is now scim-bridge , written from scratch in C by Ryo Dairiki. SCIM is no longer linked against libstdc++so7 , and scim-qtimm works again.

Here is a table of the default trigger hotkeys for different languages:

If SCIM is installed, it now runs by default for all users.

su -c 'yum groupinstall <language>-support'

At X startup, xinput.sh now sources ~/.xinputrc or /etc/X11/xinit/xinputrc instead of searching config files under ~/.xinput.d/ or /etc/xinit/xinput.d/.

If you have SCIM installed but do not wish to run it on your desktop, you can disable it with im-chooser or by creating an empty file:

echo > ~/.xinputrc

Firefox in Fedora Core is built with Pango, which provides better support for certain scripts, such as Indic and some CJK scripts. Fedora has the permission of the Mozilla Corporation to use the Pango system for text rendering.

To disable the use of Pango, set MOZ_DISABLE_PANGO=1 in your environment before launching Firefox.

Fedora Extras provides a repository of packages that complement Fedora Core. This volunteer-based community effort is part of the larger Fedora Project.

	Fedora Extras are Available by Default
	Fedora systems automatically use both the Fedora Core and Fedora Extras repositories to install and update software.

To install software from either the Core or Extras repositories, choose Applications → Add/Remove Software. Enter the root password when prompted. Select the software you require from the list, and choose Apply.

You may also install software with the yum command-line utility. For example, this command automatically installs the abiword package, and all of the dependencies that are required:

su -c 'yum install abiword' 

Enter the root password when prompted.

As of the release of Fedora Core 6 test2, there are approximately 2,000 packages in Fedora Extras, built from 1,350 source packages. The following list includes some popular and well-known applications that are maintained by community members in Fedora Extras:

Is your favorite open source application missing from Fedora Extras? Package the application as an RPM, and submit it for review to Fedora Extras. After a successful review, import it to Extras and you can maintain it there. If you don't know how to create RPM packages, there are many other ways to get involved in Fedora Extras and help drive it forward.

To learn more about how to use Fedora Extras or how to get involved, refer to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras.

Beat writers produce the release notes directly on the Fedora Project Wiki. They collaborate with other subject matter experts during the test release phase of Fedora Core to explain important changes and enhancements. The editorial team ensures consistency and quality of the finished beats, and ports the Wiki material to DocBook XML in a revision control repository. At this point, the team of translators produces other language versions of the release notes, and then they become available to the general public as part of Fedora Core. The publication team also makes them, and subsequent errata, available via the Web.