|
Slackware 10.0 release notes. Mon Jun 21 23:54:30 PDT 2004
Hi everyone,
This is Slackware 10.0, the third release of Slackware based on gcc3.
Many things have been fixed and improved, but here are a few of the
major changes:
The installer utilizes the 2.4.26 kernel (this still provides the best
performance on my own machines, and is also safer for partitioning
hard drives). If you want to upgrade to the 2.6.7 kernel it is also
included and the system will fully support it. See the README.initrd
file in the testing/packages/linux-2.6.7/ directory for directions on
upgrading the system to use 2.6.7 (or better yet, make it an alternate
boot choice).
GCC was upgraded to version 3.3.4, with version 3.4.0 in the /testing
directory (because some source code out there is not yet compatible with
gcc-3.4.0, but this is changing fast).
Slackware now includes Sun's Java(TM) 2 Software Development Kit Standard
Edition, Version 1.4.2_04 (thanks to Sun's redistribution license).
The default sound system is now ALSA (the Advanced Linux Sound
Architecture), which is also the default sound system in the
Linux 2.6.x kernel. If you wish to use OSS instead, the modules are
still available, but you'll need to remove the packages beginning with
alsa- and remove the OSS modules from /etc/hotplug/blacklist.
Both CUPS and LPRng are supported as printing systems. A number of
command locations (like /usr/bin/lpr) are shared by these programs, and
whichever package (cups or lprng) is installed last will "own" these
symbolic links. While both systems work no matter which way the links
are pointed, if you plan to use a spooling system you'll probably want
to do two things. First, remove the one you're not going to use with
removepkg. Next, reinstall the one you plan to use with installpkg.
This will make sure the links are set correctly, and get the tools you
won't be using out of the way.
The system init files have been further streamlined while keeping
their number small and structure easy to understand. IP addresses and
other settings have been moved out of /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 into
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf. Most of the init scripts in /etc/rc.d that
control network and other services may be enabled or disabled by setting
them executable (or not) with chmod, and a new menu in the installer
lets you choose the initial state for many of them. If you want your
machine to come up on the network with no open ports at the first boot,
that's easily possible.
There is improved Linux hotplugging support. This takes over the job of
configuring Cardbus cards (instead of pcmcia-cs, still used for non-Cardbus
cards). However, this means that if you're used to configuring your card in
/etc/pcmcia/, you'll need to set it up elsewhere. For example, the old way
of configuring a Cardbus network card is by editing /etc/pcmcia/network.opts.
Now you'll need to set up the IP in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf (or by running
"netconfig") instead. To make matters more confusing, non-Cardbus PC cards
continue to use /etc/pcmcia/network.opts!
Even with the rough edges, the addition of Linux hotplug support is a major,
major step forward. In most cases this new subsystem can probe for and detect
every piece of PCI, Cardbus, and USB hardware connected to the machine and
automatically load all the correct kernel modules. Very nice. :-)
NOTE: if the hotplugging subsystem causes problems at boot time, it can be
skipped by passing the kernel a "nohotplug" flag on the kernel command line.
It is highly recommended to use hotplug if possible. As more things are
designed to use hotplug, trying to run without it becomes like trying to
run with half a kernel (really, it is the user space portion of the kernel
in many ways). If enabling hotplug causes your machine to crash or hang,
odds are that it's loading a kernel module that your system doesn't agree
with. If you can figure out which one it is (perhaps the logs will help),
you'll be able to add it to /etc/hotplug/blacklist to prevent hotplug from
trying to load it. If you run into this and determine that a module needs
to be listed, let me know so it can be considered here as well.
Speaking of PC card support, we're no longer using the driver modules that
come with the pcmcia-cs sources and have moved to the ones included with the
Linux kernel source. Besides providing better PC card support, this will
make things easier for people who like to keep up with the latest kernels.
Wireless support is substantially better thanks to improved tools and
drivers (including the linux-wlan-ng driver for Prism2 cards in the
extra package collection), and Eric Hameleers work on supporting USB, PCI,
and Cardbus wireless cards (/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless).
Support for USB keyboards is now integrated into the installer. If USB
device detection causes problems (it shouldn't), it may be skipped by
passing the kernel a "nousb" flag at boot. In the event that the keyboard
doesn't work right away when the install CD is booted, wait. It will
boot automatically after two minutes without a keypress, and then the
kernel should find your keyboard.
Have fun! :-)
Pat Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com>
Announcing Slackware Linux 10.0!
The first Slackware release of 2004, Slackware Linux 10.0 continues
the more than ten-year Slackware tradition of simplicity, stability,
and security.
Among the many program updates and distribution enhancements, you'll
find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today:
GNOME 2.6.1 (including a collection of pre-compiled GNOME
applications), and KDE 3.2.3, the latest version of the award-winning
K Desktop Environment. Slackware uses the 2.4.26 kernel bringing you
advanced performance features such as the ReiserFS journaling
filesystem, SCSI and ATA RAID volume support, and kernel support for X
DRI (the Direct Rendering Interface) that brings high-speed hardware
accelerated 3D graphics to Linux. Additional kernels allow installing
Slackware using any of the journaling filesystems available for Linux,
including ext3, ReiserFS, IBM's JFS, and SGI's XFS. For those
Slackware users who are anxious to try the new 2.6.x kernel series, it
is fully supported by the system. A precompiled Linux 2.6.7 kernel,
modules, and source code are provided (along with complete
instructions on how to install the new kernel).
From the beginning, Slackware has offered a stable and secure Linux
distribution for UNIX veterans as well as an easy-to-use system for
beginners. Slackware includes everything you'll need to run a
powerful server or workstation. Each Slackware package follows the
setup and installation instructions from its author(s) as closely as
possible, offering you the most stable and easily expandable setup.
Here are some of the advanced features of Slackware 10.0:
- Runs the 2.4.26 version of the Linux kernel from ftp.kernel.org.
Special kernels were prepared to support hardware such as SCSI
controllers, USB keyboards and mice, parallel-port IDE devices,
IBM PS/2 machines with the Microchannel bus, and even speech
synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired
community. The performance of the 2.4.x kernel series along with
Slackware's track record of careful attention to system security
make it the perfect choice for running your production servers.
- As an alternate choice, Slackware 10.0 includes Linux 2.6.7
source, kernel modules, and binary packages, along with a new
mkinitrd tool and instructions on using it to install the
new kernel (see /boot/README.initrd). When running a 2.6
kernel, Slackware supports udev. This is a system for
creating devices in /dev dynamically, greatly reducing device
clutter and making it easy to see what devices are actually
present in the system.
- System binaries are linked with the GNU C Library, version 2.3.2.
This version of glibc has been patched to improve compatibility
with existing binaries.
- X11R6.7.0
This is the current release of the X.Org Foundation's X Window
System based on XFree86 4.4.0RC2. The 6.7.0 version is a new
release that includes additional hardware support, functional
enhancements and bug fixes. Font rendering is improved yet
again with recent versions of fontconfig and freetype. Through
the generosity of Bitstream, Inc., the Vera truetype font family
is included as well providing pleasing default fonts out of the
box.
- Major enhancements to the printing system include new versions
of CUPS (1.1.20) and LPRng (3.8.27). The Ghostscript interpreter
has been upgraded to ESP Ghostscript version 7.07.1 which offers
several improvements over the GNU release of Ghostscript, including
more drivers and better integration with CUPS. Two IJS servers
(printer driver suites for Ghostscript) are available in this
release: HPIJS, which supports more than 200 HP Inkjet printer
models (compared with 60 supported in Slackware 9.1), and
Gimp-Print, offering support for hundreds of printers from Canon,
Lexmark, HP, Epson, and other manufacturers.
- Installs gcc-3.3.4 as the default C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran-77,
and Ada 95 compiler. gcc-3.4.0 is available as an alternate choice.
- Support for fully encrypted network connections with OpenSSL,
OpenSSH, and GnuPG.
- Apache 1.3.31 web server with Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) support,
SSL, and PHP.
- PCMCIA, CardBus, and APM support for laptops. (pcmcia-cs-3.2.7).
Slackware also now includes hotplug support. This locates and
configures most hardware automatically as it is added (or removed)
from the system. It also loads the kernel modules required by
sound cards and other hardware at boot time.
- New development tools, including Perl 5.8.4, Python 2.3.4, and
graphical tools like Qt designer, KDevelop, and Glade.
- Updated versions of the Slackware package management tools make it
easy to add, remove, upgrade, and make your own Slackware packages.
Package tracking makes it easy to upgrade from Slackware 9.1 to
Slackware 10.0 (see UPGRADE.TXT). The slackpkg tool in /extra can
also help update from an older version of Slackware to a newer one,
and keep your Slackware system up to date. In addition, the new
slacktrack utility (in extra/) will help you build and maintain
your own packages.
- Web browsers galore! Includes Netscape Communicator version 7.1,
Konqueror 3.2.3, Mozilla 1.7 (with anti-aliased font support
and built-in junk email filtering), Epiphany 1.2.6, and Galeon
1.3.15.
- The complete K Desktop Environment (KDE) version 3.2.3, including
the KOffice productivity suite, networking tools, GUI development
with KDevelop, multimedia tools, the Konqueror web browser and
file manager, dozens of games and utilities, international language
support, and more.
- The GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME) version 2.6.1
(this already includes many of the updates for the upcoming 2.6.2
release).
- A collection of GTK based applications, including abiword-2.0.6,
gaim-0.78, gimp-2.0.2, gkrellm-2.2.1, gxine-0.3.3, and
pan-0.14.2.91.
- Large repository of extra software packages compiled and ready to
run. This includes various window managers, support for 3Dfx gaming
cards, OpenMotif-2.2.2, the K3b CD burning application for KDE,
libsafe (advanced buffer overflow protection for additional
security), ISDN support, additional 802.11 drivers, and much more
(see the /extra directory).
- Many more improved and upgraded packages than we can list here. For
a complete list of core packages in Slackware 10.0, see this file:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-10.0/PACKAGES.TXT
- Another Slackware exclusive: Slackware's ZipSlack installation
option is the fastest, _easiest_ Linux installation ever. ZipSlack
provides a basic text-based Linux system as a 45 megabyte ZIP archive.
Simply unzip on any FAT or FAT32 partition, edit your boot partition
in the LINUX.BAT batch file, and you can be running Linux in less
than five minutes. The ZipSlack installation includes everything you
need to network with Linux (including Ethernet, token ring, and
PPP), and extend the system with additional software packages such as
X. A ZipSlack system will even fit on a Zip(TM) disk, so you can
carry a personal Linux system with you to run on any PC with a
Zip(TM) drive.
Downloading Slackware 10.0:
---------------------------
The full version of Slackware Linux 10.0 is available for download from
the central Slackware FTP site hosted by our friends at www.cwo.com:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-10.0/
The ZipSlack version of Slackware can be downloaded from:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-10.0/zipslack/
If this site is busy, see the list of official mirror sites here:
http://slackware.com/getslack/
We will be setting up BitTorrent downloads for the official ISO images.
Stay tuned to http://slackware.com for the latest updates.
Purchasing Slackware on CD-ROM:
-------------------------------
Or, purchase the Slackware Linux 10.0 four CD-ROM set directly from
Slackware Linux, and you'll be helping to support the continued
development of Slackware Linux! :-)
This is the official release of Slackware on CD-ROM, and has many
enhanced features, including:
- Easy bootable CD-ROM installation. If your machine can boot a
CD-ROM, just boot the first disc to begin the installation process.
- Fully bootable live rescue CD-ROM -- just boot the second disc and
run a basic Linux system off the disc, including networking tools.
- The ZipSlack edition of Slackware Linux 10.0.
- The source code used to build Slackware Linux 10.0.
The price for the Slackware Linux CD-ROM set is $39.95 plus shipping.
Slackware Linux is also available by subscription. When we release a
new version of Slackware (which is typically once or twice a year) we
ship it to you and bill your credit card $24.95 plus shipping. Shipping
is $5 in the USA, Canada, and Mexico for First Class. Overseas is $9
PER ORDER. There is an additional $3 COD charge (USA Only). UPS Blue
Label (2nd day) [USA Only] is $10 PER ORDER, UPS Red Label (next day)
[USA Only] is $15 PER ORDER.
Ordering Information:
---------------------
You can order online at the Slackware Linux store:
http://store.slackware.com
Order inquiries (including questions about becoming a Slackware
reseller) may be directed to this address:
info@slackware.com
Or, send a check or money order to:
Slackware Linux, Inc.
1164 Claremont Drive
Brentwood, CA 94513
USA
Have fun! :^)
---
Patrick J. Volkerding <volkerdi@slackware.com>
Visit us on the web at: http://slackware.com
Welcome to Slackware 10.0!
Slackware 10.0 is a complete distribution of the Linux operating system.
This version contains the 2.4.26 Linux kernel, plus recent versions of these
(and many more) software packages:
- C compiler gcc-3.3.4 and gcc-3.4.0
- Binutils 2.15.90.0.3
- GNU C Library glibc-2.3.2
- X Window System X11R6.7.0 from X.Org.
- KDE 3.2.3
- GNOME 2.6.1
For installation instructions, see the file 'Slackware-HOWTO'.
These are some of the important files and directories found on the Slackware
FTP site:
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-10.0/
If you're reading this on a CD-ROM, these directories will probably be
split across several discs.
.
|-- BOOTING.TXT Tips for troubleshooting boot problems.
|-- CHECKSUMS.md5 MD5 format file checksums.
|-- COPYING The GNU Public License.
|-- COPYRIGHT.TXT Slackware copyright and trademark information.
|-- CRYPTO_NOTICE.TXT Legal information about encryption in Slackware.
|-- ChangeLog.txt Log of system changes from Slackware 9.1 to 10.0.
|-- FAQ.TXT Frequently asked questions and answers.
|-- FILELIST.TXT List of files on the Slackware FTP site.
|-- GPG-KEY The GnuPG key used to verify Slackware packages.
|-- PACKAGES.TXT A detailed list of the core Slackware packages.
|-- SPEAKUP_DOCS.TXT Documentation for the Speakup speech synth software.
|-- SPEAK_INSTALL.TXT How to install with Speakup speech synthesis.
|
|-- Slackware-HOWTO Instructions for installing Slackware from CD.
| If you're new to Slackware, start with this.
|
|-- UPGRADE.TXT Instructions for upgrading from earlier versions.
|
|-- bootdisks/ Bootdisks for installing without a bootable CD-ROM or
| | for starting a Linux system from floppy disk. See
| | also the rootdisks/ directory below.
| |
| |-- RAWRITE.EXE The "RAWRITE" programs are used to write a floppy
| |-- RAWRITE12.DOC image under DOS or Windows. Because there are a lot
| |-- RAWRITE12.EXE of versions of DOS and Windows, there are several
| |-- RAWRITENT.DOC versions of RAWRITE, and you may have to try a few
| |-- RAWRITENT.EXE before finding one that works with your version of DOS
| |-- RAWRITEXP.EXE or Windows.
| |
| |-- README.TXT Detailed descriptions of all the boot floppies.
| |
| |-- adaptec.s Adaptec bootdisk.
| |-- ataraid.s Bootdisk with ATA (IDE) RAID support.
| |-- bare.i Standard IDE/ATAPI bootdisk (default kernel).
| |-- bareacpi.i IDE/ATAPI bootdisk with ACPI power support.
| |-- ibmmca.s IBM PS/2 Microchannel bus bootdisk.
| |-- jfs.s Bootdisk with IBM JFS support.
| |-- lowmem.i Bootdisk for machines too low on RAM to boot bare.i.
| | This is also the only kernel that supports a 386.
| |-- old_cd.i Old non-SCSI non-IDE CD-ROM drive support bootdisk.
| |-- pportide.i Parallel port IDE bootdisk.
| |-- raid.s SCSI RAID bootdisk.
| |-- scsi.s Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- scsi2.s Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- scsi3.s Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- speakup.s bare.i + Speakup speech support. Also AIC7xxx SCSI.
| `-- xfs.s Bootdisk with support for SGI XFS and AIC7xxx SCSI.
|
|-- extra/ Extra packages for Slackware like:
| | aspell word lists, bash-completion-20040526,
| | bison-1.875, bittorrent-3.4.2, brltty-3.4.1,
| | btmgr-3.7_1, checkinstall-1.5.3, dip-3.3.7p,
| | emacspeak-20.0, emacspeak-ss-1.9.1, emu-tools-0.9.4,
| | fluxbox-beta-0.9.9, glibc-debug-2.3.2,
| | glibc-profile-2.3.2, 3dfx-glide libraries,
| | inn-2.4.1, k3b-0.11.11, kfiresaver3d-0.6,
| | libsafe-2.0.16, linux-wlan-ng-0.2.1pre21_2.4.26,
| | linux-wlan-ng-0.2.1pre21_2.6.7, mpg123-0.59r,
| | openmotif-2.2.2, parted-1.6.11, slackpkg-1.2.2,
| | slacktrack-1.21, and xcdroast-0.98alpha15.
| |
| `-- source/ Source code for the extra packages.
|
|-- isolinux/ The ISOLINUX loader and initrd.img used to install
| | Slackware from a CD-ROM. You'll also find the
| | PCMCIA and network images (these can be loaded
| | from the installation CD-ROM), and a README.TXT
| | describing how to create a Slackware installation
| | ISO image and burn it to CD-R.
| |
| |-- README.TXT How to burn a Bootable Slackware CD-ROM.
| |-- initrd.img Installation initrd (can also be loaded with Loadlin)
| |-- network.dsk Image containing network modules.
| `-- pcmcia.dsk Image containing PCMCIA modules.
|
|-- kernels/ Many precompiled Linux 2.4.26 kernel images.
| |
| |-- adaptec.s/ Adaptec kernel.
| |-- ataraid.s/ Kernel with ATA (IDE) RAID support.
| |-- bare.i/ Standard IDE kernel.
| |-- bareacpi.i IDE/ATAPI kernel with ACPI power support.
| |-- ibmmca.s/ IBM Microchannel kernel.
| |-- jfs.s/ IBM Journaled Filesystem +aic7xxx SCSI kernel.
| |-- loadlin16c.txt Loadlin README file.
| |-- loadlin16c.zip Loadlin boot loader (used to boot Linux from DOS)
| |-- lowmem.i/ Kernel that uses very little memory.
| |-- old_cd.i/ Old non-SCSI non-IDE CD-ROM support kernel.
| |-- pportide.i/ Parallel port IDE kernel.
| |-- raid.s/ SCSI RAID kernel.
| |-- scsi.s/ Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- scsi2.s/ Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- scsi3.s/ Supports some SCSI cards (see bootdisks/README.TXT).
| |-- speakup.s bare.i + Speakup speech support. Also AIC7xxx SCSI.
| |-- xfs.s Bootdisk with support for SGI XFS and AIC7xxx SCSI.
| `-- zipslack.s/ Kernel with Iomega and other SCSI support.
|
|-- pasture/ These are packages that have been removed
| from Slackware, but are useful enough to
| keep around. Might not be secure.
| Packages currently found here include old XFree86
| 3.3.6 servers, db1-1.85, db2-2.4.14, db4-4.1.25,
| devfsd-1.3.25, gnu-pop3d-0.9.8, ipchains-1.3.10,
| links-0.98, modutils-2.4.25, pop3d-1.020i,
| and wu-ftpd-2.6.2
|
|-- rootdisks/ Slackware installation and rescue floppy images.
| |
| |-- RAWRITE.EXE The "RAWRITE" programs are used to write a floppy
| |-- RAWRITE12.DOC image under DOS or Windows.
| |-- RAWRITE12.EXE
| |-- RAWRITENT.DOC
| |-- RAWRITENT.EXE
| |-- RAWRITEXP.EXE
| |
| |-- README.TXT This README.TXT file explains the various choices.
| |-- install.1 install.1 and install.2 are the install floppy images.
| |-- install.2 If you will be starting the install using a boot
| | floppy, then you will need to load both of these.
| |
| |-- install.zip install.zip is a version of the installer that
| |-- install.zip.README runs from a DOS partition. See the README.
| |
| |-- network.dsk This is used also with install.1 and install.2
| |-- network.dsk.README to do installation from an NFS server.
| |
| |-- pcmcia.dsk This is used to activate PCMCIA devices (laptop
| |-- pcmcia.dsk.README cards) needed during installation.
| |
| |-- rescue.dsk A simple rescue floppy you can load with a
| |-- rescue.dsk.README bootdisk.
| |
| `-- sbootmgr.dsk A small image containing a simple boot manager.
| In some cases this can be used to boot a CD in a
| machine that otherwise couldn't support it.
|
|-- slackware/ This directory contains the core software packages
| | for Slackware 10.0.
| |
| |-- a/ The A (base) package series.
| |-- ap/ The AP (applications) package series.
| |-- d/ The D (development) package series.
| |-- e/ The E (GNU Emacs) package series.
| |-- f/ The F (FAQ/Documentation) package series.
| |-- gnome/ The GNOME package series.
| |-- k/ The K (kernel source) package series.
| |-- kde/ The KDE package series.
| |-- kdei/ The KDE internationalization package series.
| |-- l/ The L (libraries) package series.
| |-- n/ The N (networking) package series.
| |-- t/ The T (TeX) package series.
| |-- tcl/ The TCL (Tcl/Tk and related) package series.
| |-- x/ The X (X Window System) package series.
| |-- xap/ The XAP (X applications) package series.
| `-- y/ The Y (BSD games) package series.
|
|-- source/ This directory contains source code for the core
| | software packages in Slackware.
| |
| |-- a/ Source for the A (base) series.
| |-- ap/ Source for the AP (applications) series.
| |-- d/ Source for the D (development) series.
| |-- e/ Source for the E (GNU Emacs) series.
| |-- f/ slack-desc files for the F (FAQ) series.
| |-- gnome/ Source for the GNOME series.
| |-- k/ Source for the K (kernel source) series.
| |-- kde/ Source for the KDE series.
| |-- kdei/ Source for the KDEI series.
| |-- l/ Source for the L (libraries) series.
| |-- n/ Source for the N (networking) series.
| |-- rootdisks/ Source for utilities on the rootdisks.
| |-- t/ Source for the T (TeX) series.
| |-- tcl/ Source for the TCL (Tcl/Tk and related) series.
| |-- x/ Source for the X (X Window System) series.
| |-- xap/ Source for the XAP (X applications) series.
| `-- y/ Source for the Y (BSD games) series.
|
`-- zipslack/ This is ZipSlack, a small (under 100MB) Slackware
| system packaged as a Zip file. Installation
| is as simple as unzipping zipslack.zip on a FAT or
| FAT32 partition, or Zip disk. It does not come
| with X, but is otherwise fairly complete, including
| many networking tools. The package management tools
| allow you to add as much extra software as you need
| (such as X) once you boot the system. For more
| information, see the README.1st file.
|
|-- ChangeLog.txt Changes to ZipSlack.
|-- FAQ.TXT ZipSlack FAQ.
|
|-- RAWRITE.EXE The "RAWRITE" programs are used to write a floppy
|-- RAWRITE12.DOC image under DOS or Windows.
|-- RAWRITE12.EXE
|-- RAWRITENT.DOC
|-- RAWRITENT.EXE
|-- RAWRITEXP.EXE
|
|-- README.1st ZipSlack README and installation instructions.
|-- README.ppa Information about parallel port Zip drives.
|-- bootdisk.img A bootdisk you can use to boot ZipSlack.
|-- fourmeg.txt README for the 8MB swapfile package for ZipSlack.
|-- fourmeg.zip An 8MB swapfile useful on machines with low RAM.
|-- split/ ZipSlack split into floppy-sized chunks.
`-- zipslack.zip ZipSlack as a single Zip archive.
If you like Slackware, please consider supporting the project by becoming
a Slackware subscriber. The announcement (ANNOUNCE_10.0) in this directory
has information about subscribing to the Slackware CD-ROM releases, or you
can read about it (and check out other Slackware products) by visiting the
Slackware store:
http://store.slackware.com
Enjoy!
Patrick Volkerding
volkerdi@slackware.com |
|