news January 2008

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Documentation Beat Ready
by John Babich 20 Jan '08

20 Jan '08

Thomas: The Documentation Beat is ready for this week's Fedora Weekly News. Best regards, John Babich Docs Beat Writer, FWN

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FWN#116 development beat ready
by Oisin Feeley 19 Jan '08

19 Jan '08

Hi all, The development beat is ready for editing/corrections/input at: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Beats/Developments#preview I'd like to draw attention to section #4 "AVC:Denied {trolling} For PID=666 Comm={SELinuxRemove}" as I'm not sure whether I've been fair to Valent in the reporting. I think I have, but it's hard to maintain perspective even when I'm not actually involved and I wonder whether my characterization of some of his posts as trolling is unfair. -- Oisin Feeley oisinfeeley(a)imapmail.org

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Fedora Weekly News Issue 115
by Thomas Chung 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

= Fedora Weekly News Issue 115 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 115 for the week of January 7th http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue115 In Announcement, we have "Fedora's way forward" a special announcement by MaxSpevack In Planet Fedora, we have "Transition", "Fedora marketing revitalization", "To all FUDCon attendees", "FUDCon 2008 - Day 2" and "FUDCon 2008 - Day 1" To join or give us your feedback, please visit http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join. 1. Announcements 1. Fedora's way forward 2. Planet Fedora 1. Transition 2. Fedora marketing revitalization 3. To all FUDCon attendees 4. FUDCon 2008 - Day 2 5. FUDCon 2008 - Day 1 3. Marketing 1. Fedora gets a new project leader 2. FUDCon Raleigh 2008 Video 4. Developments 1. The X-orcist: Driver Slasher! 2. Call To Choose An Initscript Replacement 3. Firewire, Choice And Fedora 4. Applications Using Type1 Fonts Should Upgrade To OTF 5. I'm Melting! Core Temp Of 125C Due To Kernel? 5. Infrastructure 1. Outages 2. A new FIG: sysadmin-tools 6. Security Week 1. Coverity and Open Source 2. Bruce Schneier Interview 7. Security Advisories 1. Fedora 8 Security Advisories 2. Fedora 7 Security Advisories 8. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Board Meeting Minutes 2008-MM-DD 2. Fedora Ambassadors Meeting 2008-MM-DD 3. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2008-MM-DD 4. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2008-01-10 5. Fedora Infrastructure Meeting (Log) 2008-01-10 6. Fedora Localization Meeting 2008-MM-DD 7. Fedora Marketing Meeting 2008-MM-DD 8. Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD 9. Fedora Quality Assurance Meeting 2008-MM-DD 10. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2008-MM-DD 11. Fedora SIG EPEL Meeting Week 02/2008 12. Fedora SIG KDE Meeting Week 02/2008 13. Fedora SIG Store Meeting (Log) 2008-01-09 14. Fedora SIG Astronomy Meeting Log 2008-MM-DD [[Anchor(Announcements)]] == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from Fedora Project. In this issue, we've included all new announcements since last issue. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-announce-list Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora's way forward === MaxSpevack announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "Over 150 people will be attending FUDCon on Saturday, which will be a more traditional day of presentations, sessions, etc. The opening talk will be my yearly "State of Fedora" speech. I believe it will be videotaped and up on the internet eventually, but I want to take a few minutes to share some of the details with you." "I am very pleased to announce that PaulFrields has accepted a job with Red Hat, and he will be taking over as Fedora Project Leader in February." "Additionally, JackAboutboul has recently transferred into a full-time job in Red Hat's marketing and brand communications group. We have asked Jack to take an active leadership role in Fedora marketing, community building, and Ambassadors." https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2008-January/msg00003.… [[Anchor(PlanetFedora)]] == Planet Fedora == In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet Contributing Writers: ThomasChung === Transition === MaxSpevack points out in his blog[1], "While Paul will be taking over for me as the Fedora Project Leader in February, I will still be involved in Fedora. I am going to be spending a lot of time over the next month or two helping Paul transition into the job, especially during the several-week period that we are in right now when Paul is still finishing up his old job and before he joins Red Hat." [1] http://spevack.livejournal.com/42900.html === Fedora marketing revitalization === KarstenWade points out in his blog[1], "As a last hackfest item before my flight, we're talking with Red Hat's press/comms superstar Leigh Day about Fedora marketing. She is leading a mini-design thinking session with us around everything from our communications mechanism to how we handle event planning and execution." [1] http://iquaid.org/2008/01/13/fedora-marketing-revitalization/ === To all FUDCon attendees === JonRoberts points out in his blog[1], "I know everyone is busy hacking away, and today is the last day, but if anyone happens to have a spare moment to reply to a few generic questions about what they've gotten upto that would be hugely appreciated :) Want to try and do something useful with this info to help promote Fedora and everyone's aweseome work...Will even try and send out some more specific questions later - have fun! Oh, p.s. reply to these on the marketing list, to my e-mail or on this blog if you get a chance." [1] http://blog.questionsplease.org/2008/01/13/to-all-fudcon-attendees/ === FUDCon 2008 - Day 2 === ChrisTyler points out in his blog[1], "FUDCon day 2 has wrapped up. It was great to meet a number of people who to this point have been a hackergotchi or IRC nick." [1] http://blog.chris.tylers.info/index.php?/archives/100-FUDCon-2008-Day-2.html === FUDCon 2008 - Day 1 === JefSpaleta points out in his blog[1], "Here's a smattering of pictures from day 1. First a picture from this morning's meetup before breaking into groups for the hackfest:" [1] http://jspaleta.livejournal.com/17056.html [[Anchor(Marketing)]] == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora gets a new project leader === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Isn't it interesting that someone could have such a big impact on Red Hat as Paul has...without working for Red Hat? That's the power of open source. Merit before bureaucracy." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00074… === FUDCon Raleigh 2008 Video === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "This is a special edition of Weekly Wire, made on location at the Fedora User and Developers Conference (FUDCon) in Raleigh, N. Carolina. This video gives you a look at how FUDCon operates and introduces you to some of the participants." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00070… [[Anchor(Developments)]] == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list Contributing Writer: OisinFeeley === The X-orcist: Driver Slasher! === A call for objections to the removal of specific Xorg drivers was posted[1] by AdamJackson as part of the clean-up work he was doing while porting to the new server APIs. Adam listed the following as slated for removal: ''avivo'' (ATI R500+ chips will use either ''radeon'' or ''radeonhd''); ''s3''; ''vga''; ''ark''; ''chips'' and ''tseng''. Adam asked that objections to any part of his plan should now speak up. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00847.html The ''chips'' driver for C&T 65xx mode[2] was declared[3] by AlanCox to be essential to the small LCD displays which are common on low-power boxes and for which VESA is unable to correctly set the modes. Alan offered to test or debug as required. Adam promised[4] "chips will be spared from the coming apocalypse." [2] "Chips and Technology" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chips_and_Technologies [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00852.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00858.html The next two objections seemed to be false alarms. WarrenTogami was worried[5] about both the AMD Geode driver and the ''s3'' driver as the former was used by the OLPC and the latter by Intel's "Affordable PC". ThorstenLeemhuis corrected[6] this with the information that the APC actually used the "SiSM661GX [which] is driven by xorg-x11-drv-sis" and AdamJackson confirmed[7] this and also clarified that the AMDGeode was not going to be dropped. HansdeGoede noted[8] however that the ''vesa'' driver would not be able to handle pre-Virge cards contrary to Adam's plan as their BIOSes had no VESA support. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00930.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00941.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00983.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00943.html A plea to save the ''tseng'' driver came[9] from FelixMiata. He outlined their usefulness for upgraders with only a PCI and no AGP slots. In the end Adam agreed to do his best to port all the drivers (as a low priority task) as there had been requests to retain them. ChristopherAillon and AlanCox nevertheless vied[11] to name the promised purge. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00935.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01058.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01051.html === Call To Choose An Initscript Replacement === Another discussion (see also FWN#111 "Fedora 8 Boot-up Speed"[1]) on how to decrease init time occurred when EricTanguy asked[2] for discussion of ''Mudur'', an init system for the Turkish GNU/Linux distribution named ''Pardus''[3]. The project's webpage identifies disk I/O as a limiting resource and the use of startup scripts rewritten in Python to run in parallel and avoid unnecessary I/O as the solution. The Pardus approach does not replace ''initd''. [1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue111#head-2fa65b1cb87233afa6584ff976a… [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00460.html [3] http://www.pardus.org.tr/eng/projeler/comar/SpeedingUpLinuxWithPardus.html CaseyDahlin responded[4] that he had been working on a parallel boot system, ''rrn'', which provided ''dbus'' notifications of starting services, retains 'initd' and is compatible with SysV initscripts. (A FUDCon[5] session was planned for ''rrn''). Casey was skeptical about the use of Python, preferring Haskell, but agreed that BASH ran many other programs causing extra I/O. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00484.html [5] http://barcamp.org/FUDConRaleigh2008 JonathanUnderwood asked why ''upstart'' had not been chosen as a replacement and Casey provided[6] the information that discussions on the subject (he included a link to the wiki entry) had preferred ''prcsys'' but that its use of pthreads and lack of dbus functionality had inidcated a rewrite would be useful. Jonathon thought[6a] that the current roadmap for "upstart" obviated many of those objections. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00490.html [6a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00558.html NicolasMailhot wished[7] that any replacement init system would also take care of session initiation and LinusWalleij provided[8] a link to the ''InitKit'' project at Freedesktop.org. Casey investigated this and later reported[8a] that InitKit plans solely to create a standard for even-based activation to provide a common target for dependent software. No actual code is specifically planned to come from InitKit. [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00506.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00518.html [8a] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00918.html A name-change was suggested by LeszekMatok due to both the sound and a potential namespace pollution. Casey explained[9] that it stood for "Resolve/Run/Notify" but took the points on board. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00579.html The suggestion that Haskell might be used was ridiculed by DimiPaun who pointed out that any language chosen should be widely known by sysadmins and that it would be better to use C if the init scripts were to be rewritten. YaakovNemoy accepted the obscurity argument but argued[10] Haskell's advantages over Python, pointing out that Haskell needed no VM and instead is compiled to native machine code. NilsPhilippsen thought[11] that requiring a compiler collection merely to boot a machine needed much justification. [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00545.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00569.html The use of any dependency bloating requirements such as PERL or Python was considered[12] a non-starter by EnricoScholz. YaakovNemoy responded[13] that Python was installed on most machines and that the combination of Bash with awk, grep and other tools most definitely was. Yaakov called for comparative measurements of the time taken and number of kilobytes read during startup by the current system and one that starts python. Enrico pointed[14] to over 50% of his machines not using Python and MattMiller's disbelief that YUM (and hence python) was installed on less than half was answered[15] by DanielBerrange with the information that "stateless" installs or VM "appliances" do not require YUM. [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00505.html [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00541.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00551.html [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00582.html The use of an initscript which required anything outside of POSIX was anathema to RalfCorsepius. NilsPhillipsen responded[16] that he could see no way of removing the numerous forks and exec()s within the current SysV framework. Casey and YaakovNemoy thought that Ralf's argument that a bare-bones POSIX should be adhered to was a nearly religious one. Ralf backed[18] up his argument with reference to SuSE's initscript changes. [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00572.html [17] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00826.html [18] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00829.html The suggestion of HorstvonBrand was that service dependencies should be considered and AndrewFarris largely agreed[19] but thought that Horst's specific suggestion that a webserver should be prevented from running if there were no network was wrong. An interesting subthread developed in which the hanging of network services due to DNS lookups failing when there is no network developed. [19] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00860.html The suggestion that daemons could be changed to become non-forking and thus avoid having to use Python was made[20] by Enrico and this led to an informative exchange. NilsPhilippsen riposted[21] that Enrico's scheme only handled the subset of daemons which used pidfiles and that Python was not irretrievably bloated. JamesAntill confirmed[22] that a "core" python could be a fraction of the current size, but cautioned that it would be a lot of work to sort out the dependencies. Enrico responded[23] with an estimate of the size of a slimmed down bash and arguments that suggested that pidfiles were an anachronism required by initsystems with forking daemons. Nils seemed to rebut[24] most of these points, arguing that PIDs of processes could change and that python's size had been demonstrated to be of similar magnitude to bash's. Enrico countered[25] this by noting, among other things, that fork() and exec() performance were dependent on the particular program being executed and that a distinction needed to be drawn between first startup (which is not that important) and subsequent instances. This exchange continued a little further without apparent resolution or clarity. [20] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00619.html [21] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00624.html [22] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00739.html [23] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00633.html [24] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00642.html [25] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00650.html A suggestion was made[26] by CaseyDahlin to consider the use of ''busybox'' to replace bash and its attendent required programs. KevinKofler worried[27] that the number of forks would remain the same and wondered whether a "shell which emulates POSIX process handling in-process and uses direct builtin function calls for commands like sed rather than forking a new process [...] could work," but worried that maintainability would suffer due to the need for special-case code to handle pipes and other necessary features. Both Casey[29] and AlanCox[30] noted that the fork was less of an issue than the execve due to disk IO. Alan suggested Plan9's ''rc'' or ''ash'', but BillNottingham reported[31] that ''ash'' had been benchmarked and shown to be unpromising. [26] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00607.html [27] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00611.html [28] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00611.html [29] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00612.html [30] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00632.html [31] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00677.html A skeptical evaluation of ''initng'' was posted by LennartPoettering who seemed inclined[32] towards favoring ''upstart'' but thought it was a bit of a moving target "in short: initng is a joke, initkit not ready yet, upstart a bit of a moving target that's going to be replaced soon anyway. The other systems seem to be too simple (minit, runit) or totally un-Linuxish (SMF, launchd)." Lennart preferred the idea of following Debian's lead and implementing LSB headers "to allow parallel startup" and Casey responded[33] that Fedora should "commit to that outright, and not let ourselves sit on our asses for another 5 years while everything blows by." [32] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00666.html [33] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00675.html Casey made the excellent point that Fedora is supposed to be a showcase for innovation and that he had attempted to move forward with ''rrn'' (based on discussion with HaraldHoyer) and this was now apparently not desired. He exhorted fellow contributors to pick firm goal so that someone could do the work and expressed the willingness to do it himself as long as there was an agreed target. === Firewire, Choice And Fedora === The prize for this week's mammoth thread is awarded to one started by a complaint about regressions in firewire (IEEE 1394) support made[1] by HansdeGoede. Hans wondered if the implementation of the ''juju'' stack in the kernel to the exclusion of the old stack was a good idea and argued that both should have been provided with a switching utility. As supplementary evidence of Fedora being too "bleeding edge" he pointed to a PulseAudio bugzilla entry which on the face of it documents much unhappiness. ThorstenLeemhuis agreed (except about PulseAudio) and threw in[2] ''hplip'' for good measure. He added that "Linux is about choice" and disparaged the decisions made by the Fedora Project to not ship, for example, Xgl and the latest Zope/Plone. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00845.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00848.html Hans' original firewire concerns spawned a mostly technical thread while his more general complaint and Thorsten's amplification of it gave rise to a very wide ranging, voluminous argument. The firewire issue was directly addressed[3] by WillWoods who posted that a fix had already gone into Fedora 7 and Fedora 8, due in no small part to the feedback received by making the Juju stack available in Fedora. Information[4] from KrzysztofHalasa and JarodWilson suggested that Hans' "Via vt 6306" controller should work in OHCI-1.1 mode and Hans offered to help test a rawhide kernel built with some of the upstream linux1394 tree when it was ready. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00851.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01029.html The idea that "Linux is about choice" was roundly rebuffed[5] by AdamJackson in a longish, impassioned post which argued that too much choice increased the failure rates combinatorially: "If I could only have one thing this year, it would be to eliminate that meme from the collective consciousness. It is a disease. It strangles the mind and ensures you can never change anything ever[...]" There was lots of (dis)agreement on this point especially between DavidZeuthen in agreement and PatriceDumas arguing in favor of more diversity. It was mildly heated and led David to accuse[6] Patrice of "screw[ing] up the SN ratio of this list even more". David wondered why he (David) was even on the list anymore. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00861.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00988.html === Applications Using Type1 Fonts Should Upgrade To OTF === The suggestion that some means be introduced to handle fonts not registered through ''fontconfig'' was made[1] by PatriceDumas. Patrice had been investigating packages which use Type1 fonts via ''t1lib'' and wondered if the Debian package ''defoma''[2] would provide a solution. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01046.html [2] DEbian FOnt MAnager http://packages.debian.org/unstable/admin/defoma KellyMiller was horrified[3] and cited his negative experiences with ''defoma'', including Xorg locking during startup, as a prime motivator in switching to Fedora. In response to MatejCepl Patrice clarified[4] that there was nothing wrong with ''fontconfig'' except that some applications, specifically ''grace'', ''xglyph'' and ''xdvi'', did not use it. Patrice noted that it might be better to port ''t1lib'' to use fontconfig instead of adding ''defoma''. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01048.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01113.html A long-term perspective was added[5] by NicolasMailhot when he commented that Type1 fonts were becoming increasingly rare as the preferred non-TTF format was now OTF[6]. Nicolas advised that applications currently depending on Type1 fonts should upgrade their backend. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01145.html [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenType === I'm Melting! Core Temp Of 125C Due To Kernel? === A very excitingly titled message was posted[1] by MatthewMiller. Matthew had seen the core temperature of a 32-bit Athlon 3200+ soar to 125C when he built a package while running kernel 2.6.24-0.133.rc6.git8.fc9. The previous kernel showed a more modest 95C. The machine was powering off once the 125C temperature was reached. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00443.html AndrewHaley suggested[2] that the hardware was at fault rather than the software which led RichiPlana to rebut[3] that with a list of instances in which software had damaged hardware. AlanCox seemed to agree[4] with Richi that it was possible that a kernel error could lead to overheating and then the BIOS would shut the machine off once a critical temperature had been reached. Alan requested that the fans be checked and then old and new kernels run and if any anomalies resulted that Len Brown then be informed. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00444.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00452.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00459.html Inaccurate ACPI readings with other AMD processors were reported by SteveGrubb[5] and TrondDanielsen[6] although Trond noted that ''lm_sensors'' appeared to give accurate readings. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00447.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00589.html [[Anchor(Infrastructure)]] == Infrastructure == In this section, we cover the Fedora Infrastructure Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Infrastructure Contributing Writer: HuzaifaSidhpurwala This section contains the major discussion, happening on the Fedora infrastructure list between 6th January 2008 to 12th January 2008. === Outages === MikeMcGrath reports[1], We've had some strange hardware outages over the last week or so. Basically 3 box reboots, one time xen6, and once or twice xen1. The more important guests have been moved off of xen1 on to xen2. xen2 is now running a lot of guests - app1, app2, app3, koji1, releng1, noc1, puppet1, 3 test servers. The host were later moved back to xen1. The RH team has been engaged to see if we experience anything strange there like brown outs etc. If they dont have anything and the box continues to act up then Dell will be called. Later in the week it was realised that the isssue was iscsi related. We dont have any monitoring tools on the hardware. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2008-January/msg… === A new FIG: sysadmin-tools === MikeMcGrath reports[1], Similar to the web group the sysadmin-tools group has access to a number of our collaborative tools (in the future to include asterisk, gobby and likely mailman). [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2008-January/msg… [[Anchor(SecurityWeek)]] == Security Week == In this section, we highlight the security stories from the week in Fedora. Contributing Writer: JoshBressers === Coverity and Open Source === There were quite a few stories about Coverity this week. Most were rather poorly written and were confusing at best. The real story is best read from the Coverity site here: http://scan.coverity.com/ In general Coverity is portrayed in a mostly positive light for providing their service to various Open Source projects. In reality it's not that simple. Using a closed source tool for the supposed benefit of Open Source is misleading at best. If Coverity was serious about improving the state of Open Source, they would release their tool under an Open Source license for the community to consume and improve upon. Right now they simply have a clever marketing program. === Bruce Schneier Interview === Computerworld has a nice interview with Bruce Schneier that even mentions Linux: http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1891124482;pp;1 He is one of the few security public figures who can explain things in a manner that most people can understand. [[Anchor(SecurityAdvisories)]] == Security Advisories == In this section, we cover Security Advisories from fedora-package-announce. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-package-announce Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora 8 Security Advisories === * python-cherrypy-2.2.1-8.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… * mantis-1.1.0-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * libxml2-2.6.31-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * postgresql-8.2.6-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * drupal-5.6-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg004… * qimageblitz-0.0.4-0.3.svn706674.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg004… * tog-pegasus-2.6.1-3.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg004… === Fedora 7 Security Advisories === * mantis-1.1.0-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… * python-cherrypy-2.2.1-8.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… * qimageblitz-0.0.4-0.3.svn706674.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * drupal-5.6-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * libxml2-2.6.31-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… * tog-pegasus-2.6.0-3.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg004… * postgresql-8.2.6-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg004… [[Anchor(EventsMeetings)]] == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various Projects and SIGs. Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora Board Meeting Minutes 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Ambassadors Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2008-01-10 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg01224.html === Fedora Infrastructure Meeting (Log) 2008-01-10 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2008-January/msg… === Fedora Localization Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Marketing Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Quality Assurance Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora SIG EPEL Meeting Week 02/2008 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/epel-devel-list/2008-January/msg00058.html === Fedora SIG KDE Meeting Week 02/2008 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00790.html === Fedora SIG Store Meeting (Log) 2008-01-09 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00064… === Fedora SIG Astronomy Meeting Log 2008-MM-DD === * No Report -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung

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Advisory & Fonts
by Michael Larabel 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

Hi, No fonts or advisory this week as I have been out of town (at the Consumer Electronic Show :)). Michael

2 1

FWN#115 development beat ready
by Oisin Feeley 14 Jan '08

14 Jan '08

Hi all, Please find five topics for the Development Beat of FWN#115 ready for editing and correction here: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Beats/Developments Thanks, -- Oisin Feeley oisinfeeley(a)imapmail.org

2 1

Re: Finished my report for this week
by Thomas Chung 12 Jan '08

12 Jan '08

On 12/01/2008, Huzaifa Sidhpurwala <huzaifas(a)redhat.com> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Hi Thomas, > ~ Just an FYI, finished my infra report for this week :) > - -- > Regards, > Huzaifa Sidhpurwala, RHCE, CCNA (IRC: huzaifas) Thank you Huzaifa! Regards, -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung

1 0

Fedora Docs Beat for FWN Issue 114
by John Babich 07 Jan '08

07 Jan '08

Thomas: My apologies for missing the deadline for the FWN Issue 114. I returned home from my overseas consulting assignment just a few days ago and proceeded to come down with a nasty case of the flu.. Thanks for covering the FDSCo election results. That was what I primarily was planning to cover anyway. Best Regards, John Babich Fedora Docs Beat Writer

2 1

New Volunteer Writer in Fedora News Team
by Thomas Chung 07 Jan '08

07 Jan '08

RE: huzaifas is Huzaifa Sidhpurwala <huzaifas(a)redhat.com> Team, We have new volunteer who will cover fedora-infrastructure-list beginning next week. Please welcome huzaifas! Regards, -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung

2 1

Fedora Weekly News Issue 114
by Thomas Chung 07 Jan '08

07 Jan '08

= Fedora Weekly News Issue 114 = Welcome to Fedora Weekly News Issue 114 for the week of January 7th, 2008 http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue114 In Announcement, "FUDCon Raleigh 2008" and "Fedora Unity announces Fedora 8 Re-Spin" In Planet Fedora, "Red Hat's New CEO", "bugz.fedoraproject.org" and "Fedora Xfce Spin" To join or give us your feedback, please visit http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/NewsProject/Join. 1. Announcements 1. FUDCon Raleigh 2008 2. Fedora Unity announces Fedora 8 Re-Spin 2. Planet Fedora 1. Red Hat's New CEO 2. bugz.fedoraproject.org 3. Fedora Xfce Spin 3. Marketing 1. Is Red Hat still relevant? You bet 2. IcedTea 1.5 Adds PowerPC Java Port 3. Installing Fedora 8 on Hyper-V 4. Developments 1. SELinux Rants 2. Mass Rebuild Using GCC 4.3.0-0.4 3. Call For Maintainers Of TeXLive-Related Packages 4. Policy Proposal For New Compatibility Packages 5. GDB Messages Enhanced To Indicate Missing Debuginfo Files 5. Documentation 1. FDSCo results 6. Security Advisories 1. Fedora 8 Security Advisories 2. Fedora 7 Security Advisories 7. Events and Meetings 1. Fedora Board Meeting Minutes 2008-MM-DD 2. Fedora Ambassadors EMEA Meeting 2008-MM-DD 3. Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2008-MM-DD 4. Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD 5. Fedora Infrastructure Meeting Log 2008-01-03 6. Fedora Localization Meeting 2008-MM-DD 7. Fedora Marketing Meeting 2008-MM-DD 8. Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD 9. Fedora Quality Assurance Meeting 2008-MM-DD 10. Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2008-MM-DD 11. Fedora SIG EPEL Meeting Week 01/2008 12. Fedora SIG KDE Meeting Week 01/2008 13. Fedora SIG Store Meeting 2008-MM-DD 14. Fedora SIG Astronomy Meeting Log 2007-12-28 [[Anchor(Announcements)]] == Announcements == In this section, we cover announcements from Fedora Project. In this issue, we've included all new announcements since last issue. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-announce-list Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === FUDCon Raleigh 2008 === MaxSpevack announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "Whether you are a new Fedora user who just started with Fedora 8, a seasoned veteran who has been with Red Hat from the very beginning, or somewhere in between, you are all invited to FUDCon Raleigh 2008. http://barcamp.org/FUDConRaleigh2008 This year's FUDCon is a 3 day event, from Friday January 11th - Sunday January 13th." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-December/msg00006… === Fedora Unity announces Fedora 8 Re-Spin === JeroenVanMeeuwen announces in fedora-announce-list[1], "The Fedora Unity Project is proud to announce the release of new ISO Re-Spins (DVD and CD Sets) of Fedora 8. These Re-Spin ISOs are based on the officially released Fedora 8 installation media and include all updates released as of December 18th, 2007. The ISO images are available for i386 and x86_64 architectures via jigdo starting Sunday, December 23rd, 2007." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-announce-list/2007-December/msg00008… [[Anchor(PlanetFedora)]] == Planet Fedora == In this section, we cover a highlight of Planet Fedora - an aggregation of blogs from world wide Fedora contributors. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Planet Contributing Writers: ThomasChung === Red Hat's New CEO === MaxSpevack points out in his blog[1], "Matt Asay interviewed Red Hat's new CEO, Jim Whitehurst. I thought this was a great interview. A lot of the things that Jim says really resonated with me, and I think that all of the Fedora folks out there will find themselves nodding their heads as they read it too." [1] http://spevack.livejournal.com/41708.html === bugz.fedoraproject.org === SethVidal points out in his blog[1], "Toshio, Will Woods and myself came up with something a little while back and each of us did a part in implementing it. It's bugz.fedoraproject.org" [1] http://skvidal.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/bugzfedoraprojectorg/ === Fedora Xfce Spin === RahulSundaram points out in his blog[1], "Fedora Xfce Spin is a variant of Fedora with a focus on low resource systems and in particular Xfce users. It is a live cd image that you can optionally install to hard disk or USB images." [1] http://rahulsundaram.livejournal.com/17893.html [[Anchor(Marketing)]] == Marketing == In this section, we cover Fedora Marketing Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Is Red Hat still relevant? You bet === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Many Linux users don't seem to realize just how much Red Hat contributes back to the Linux community. They are major software developers on a number of projects not the least of which is the Linux kernel. The Fedora Project site has a page entitled Red Hat contributions to Free and Open Source software which lists most of Red Hat's contributions." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00044… === IcedTea 1.5 Adds PowerPC Java Port === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "The IcedTea project added a PowerPC Java port (both 32 and 64 bit) of OpenJDK. IcedTea 1.5 now also tracks the mercurial repo, provides better GNU/Linux integration by using standard system libraries (libpng, libjpeg, zlib, giflib) and can be bootstrapped with the free gcj/ecj/classpath toolchain. OpenJDK just accepted a new porters group and Gary Benson wrote a guide to porting IcedTea that might be the start of a lot of other Java ports." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00041… === Installing Fedora 8 on Hyper-V === RahulSundaram reports in fedora-marketing-list[1], "Microsoft developer's article about Fedora as a guest in a Windows virtualized environment." [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-marketing-list/2008-January/msg00037… [[Anchor(Developments)]] == Developments == In this section, we cover the problems/solutions, people/personalities, and ups/downs of the endless discussions on Fedora Developments. http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list Contributing Writer: OisinFeeley === SELinux Rants === SELinux[1] was the subject of three distinct threads. The first was initiated when SteveGrubb responded[2] to the 22 Dec 2007 rawhide report with the information that all kernels for x86_64 subsequent to 2.6.24-0.81.rc4.git7.fc9 were failing to boot. PatriceDumas was able to confirm[3] the problem as was DavidZeuthen. A post from EricParis suggested that ''selinux-policy'' might be responsible for the problem and that manual (rpm) removal of the kernel followed by switching off SELinux enforcing mode and then updating the kernel and then re-activating enforcing mode might help. David stated[4] that he was not running enforcing mode. When DimiPaun expressed regret at this David produced[5] an "selinux rant, compressed version." In this David drew attention to the problem that SELinux policy is too complicated and requires a single maintainer, DanWalsh, to effectively know the quirks of every piece of software. In David's experience as a packager, user and developer SELinux had failed but he acknowledged that it might be useful for tightly-controlled servers. As a possible fix David suggested that policy files could be handled by rpm, but thought that this would be dismissed automatically as an option. [1] http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/ [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-December/msg01500.ht… [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2007-December/msg01677.ht… [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00199.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00219.html JesseKeating countered[6] the assumption that the problem was rpm, stating instead that SELinux itself prevented rpm from being able to write files for which it did not yet have a context. Jesse wished that SELinux upstream would get a clue. David argued[7] that SELinux were not solely to blame and suggested that rpm and selinux could be used together by installing the policy before the files were copied. He suggested that a two-way conversation between the respective projects would be useful. Jesse also touched[8] on the current necessity of using permissive mode during installs to avoid failures. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00223.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00226.html [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00225.html DanWalsh posted[9] a detailed rebuttal of David's contention that devolving policy to individual maintainers would work. His main points seemed to be assertions that maintainers would not do a good job and also that it was necessary for someone to take an overview of the complex interactions between many packages. Dan suggested that David was more likely to run into problems than most because of the frequent need for root permissions in his work. Dan also asked Jesse for specific details of problems that required running in permissive mode. Jesse's response indicated[10] the complexity of the problem involving at least two chroots. David asserted[11] was in essence confirming the idea that SELinux was too complicated and challenged Dan to allow him to maintain the policy for hal and to open up to other maintainers willing to help in this area. SteveGrubb differed[12] and suggested that rather than blame SELinux for complexity it was better to realize that it was describing the complex interactions between different pieces of software. Steve wondered if a tool to compare newly introduced syscalls with older versions could help out. [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00237.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00242.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00246.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00253.html The second rant was posted[13] by EdSwierk in which he detailed the problems he encountered when he tried to copy old user directories into a fresh server installation. Ed noted that his solution was just to switch SELinux off and commented "For me learning SELinux seems as pointless as trying to remember iptables commands, or AFS trivia back when I was a student--all cause me trouble just infrequently enough to ensure I have to relearn them from scratch every time. If I were a full-time sysadmin of course it would be a different story[.]" EricParis asked how Ed had copied the files, and when it turned out to be with ''tar'' TomaszTorcz suggested[14] that he should have used the ''--xattrs'' option. Tomasz explained that all that was important was that the context labels were set correctly for the files and that file location was irrelevant. JohnDennis drew[15] attention to the ''setroubleshoot'' and ''setroubleshoot-server'' packages which help SELinux novices identify such problems and suggests resolutions for them. The ''setroubleshoot-server'' package was explained[16] by John to address the needs of those running headless servers. [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00230.html [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00267.html [15] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00315.html [16] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00331.html Ed expressed appreciation for JohnDennis's help but wondered why the messages could be made clearer somehow. KonstantinRyabitsev suggested[17] using ''audit2allow'' and ''audit2why'' and John suggested {{{sudo sealert -a /var/log/audit/audit.log}}}. [17] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00352.html A less sanguine evaluation of ''setroubleshoot'' was expressed[18] by JonathanUnderwood who thought that it taught novice users that many problems were simply "due to bugs in selinux policy". TomLane agreed[19] with RalfCorsepius that it might not be appropriate to inform ordinary users about avc denials, but pointed out that at the present the policies were a work in progress and that feedback on them was essential. [18] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00376.html [19] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00414.html The thread ended[20] amicably as discussion between Ed and AndrewFarris made it quite clear that Ed was reporting his experience as an insight into why some people disable SELinux. Closing posts indicated that perhaps improving the error messages could help. [20] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00259.html The third related discussion was initiated[21] by LinusWalleij when he asked why ''system-config-selinux'' or ''anaconda'' did not seem to disable all the selinux related services and daemons upon request. EricParis replied[22] that in general services were not coupled such that stopping one stopped others, and that for the specific cases of ''auditd'', ''mcstrans'', ''restorecond'' and ''setroubleshoot'' mentioned by Linus there was no necessity for it as ''auditd'' can work without the presence of ''selinux'' and vice-versa. Linus investigated[23] the other users of ''auditd'' in Fedora and came up with some non-default installed programs and the conclusion that "As it stands now, a human can advise the user (in this case me) to turn off auditd (and the other selinux services) on their travel laptop [...] but the system itself cannot." A very interesting post from SteveGrubb explained[24] the utility of auditd (which among other things prevents the syslog from becoming cluttered. Steve pointed out that the audit logs collected a large amount of information ranging from failed logins to segfaulting applications, all of which could be quickly eyeballed with {{{aureport --start this-week}}}. He also pointed out that the new security audit tool ''sectool''[25] and ''aide'' and his own planned IDS plugin[26] would use this information, so that turning off auditd was possibly not desirable. EnricoScholz added[27] the caution that the local logging of auditd limited its usefulness on compromised machines. [21] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00243.html [22] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00244.html [23] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00279.html [24] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00296.html [25] https://hosted.fedoraproject.org/sectool [26] See FWN#100 "Layering An IDS On Linux" http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue100#head-051ea9b1b3a45c4c8cae083db32… [27] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00299.html Linus thanked Steve for the detailed explanation and proved his good intentions with a patch to add a better description to /etc/init.d/auditd. The patch was accepted with minor changes by SteveGrubb. [28] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00372.html === Mass Rebuild Using GCC 4.3.0-0.4 === The results of rebuilding Rawhide using the newest GCC were posted[1] by JakubJelinek. A snapshot of Rawhide dated 20th Dec 2007 contained 5118 src.rpms of which 1054 failed to build. In order to determine which of those failures were due to the new GCC Jakub attempted to rebuild using the older, stock GCC (4.1.2-36) and identified 547 that failed, leaving 507 which failed solely due to the new GCC. Jakub classified these failures in his post and listed the failing packages for the benefit of maintainers. The bulk of the errors seemed to be due to changes in the C++ Standard Template Library. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00128.html Jakub answered a few queries from maintainers who needed further help and one useful practical point that emerged[2] was that in order to test the building of a package with the new GCC it is necessary to do a scratch build in dist-f9-gcc43 as suggested by "drago01". It also seemed that there was a problem with "gettext" depending on a newer Java. Jakub clarified[3] that he had rebuilt gettext in his original buildroots, but not for dist-f9-gcc43. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00149.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00277.html Later ThorstenLeemhuis provided[4] a version of the list with package owner names prepended to each line. [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00145.html HansdeGoede noticed[5] what seemed to be errors which were due to ''boost'' which was not itself on the list of packages failing to build. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00162.html The possibility that some failures are due to problems in rawhide at the time that the snapshot was taken was highlighted[6] when ChristopherWickert sought and received Jakub's help in interpreting a cryptic error. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00154.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00163.html Failures experienced by HansdeGoede for a package depending on "allegro" and BradenMcDaniel for ''openvrml'' exposed[8] some problems due to the use of ''extern "C" ''. TomTromey pointed out[9] that a parameter list cannot contain a typedef to void instead of a type void in C++. JakubJelinek echoed[10] this and emphasized that any included header could only use the common subset of C and C++. Hans expressed[11] the opinion that this was a bug of C++, which TomTromey agreed with. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00262.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00264.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00278.html [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00327.html JonCiesla added[12] his voice to the many thanks that Jakub received and requested that the exercise be repeated before F9 Gold. The specific errors that he, IgnacioVazquezAbrams and GianlucaSforna were dealing with were in Python packages (eggs) which were failing to have their info included in the specfile. [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00285.html === Call For Maintainers Of TeXLive-Related Packages === PatriceDumas asked[1] for volunteers to help maintain packages which had been bundled into TeXLive although they are not actually part of it[2]. Patrice offered to review any packages but was too busy to take on the burden of maintaining these programs. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00433.html [2] TeXLive is a collection of software for working with TeX markup. It replaces the older teTeX collection Discussion centered around the ''xdvi'' document renderer, which JonathanUnderwood suggested could be entirely eliminated if only ''evince'' had dvi support enabled. MatthiasClasen commented that the dvi backend of evince was actually enabled in rawhide for some time, which led Jonathon to ask[3] for the relevant bugzilla entry to be closed. When Patrice commented that the removal of ''xdvi'' would be a problem for him Jonathon concurred[4] after testing a local build and finding that evince does not automatically refresh when the file changes on disk. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00471.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00439.html MamoruTasaka also thought that removing ''xdiv'' would be a problem because users of Japanese pTeX needed it. Jonathon responded[5] that he was hacking together a specfile to allow xdvi to be maintained. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00465.html === Policy Proposal For New Compatibility Packages === BrianPepple requested[1] feedback on a proposal concerning the maintenance of compatibility packages which will be voted on at the 10th January 2008 FESCo meeting. The proposal attempts to describe the limited conditions under which compatibility packages could be maintained and the manner in which disputes could be resolved. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00052.html The issue of whether there should be a time-limit on the maintenance was raised by several people. NicolasMailhot made[2] a strong case that it was necessary, and raised the specter of "the path of least resistance" resulting in maintainers pushing such libraries for ever with the result that upstream development would receive no pressure to move to newer APIs. Although several others shared these concerns there was also a desire to avoid bureaucracy and trust packagers as expressed[3][4] by PatriceDumas. [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00085.html [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00084.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00094.html Patrice wondered why extra veto powers were being given to the primary maintainers over those that wished to maintain compatibility libraries. BrianPepple responded that it was due to the increased work that would inevitably devolve onto the primary maintainer (due to security problems and misfiled bugs). Patrice remained unconvinced and stated[5] that the "asymmetry" introduced was unneeded as the primary maintainer could already raise concerns. JoshBoyer thought[6] that the emphasis on vetoes was misplaced and that the differences between Brian and Patrice were more apparent than real. Patrice finished[7] off with an examination of the language of the proposal which pointed out that as current procedures allow any packager to block a review with an escalation to FESCo there should really be no need for this apparently redundant guideline. [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00098.html [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00108.html [7] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00122.html Support for Brian's proposal was expressed[8] by LinusWalleij on the grounds that compatibility cruft would slow down the swift release cycle of Fedora. When Patrice wondered how this would actually happen JesseKeating suggested[9] that build failures and increased workload on the primary maintainer were two likely mechanisms. A small exchange between Linus and Patrice on the subject of breaking APIs versus publishing compatibility packages ensued[10]. [8] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00155.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00166.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00170.html An interesting reframing of the problem was posted[11] by ThorstenLeemhuis. Thorsten argued that proprietary applications frequently needed compatibility libraries. Rather than focusing on compatibility libraries as the problem Thorsten suggested that discouraging other non-proprietary applications from using the compat-packages should be a priority. Some practical reinforcement of the point was expressed[12] by "Alan". In response JesseKeating drew[13] a distinction between compatible libraries (which made sense to him) and compatible development packages (which did not). [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00065.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00066.html [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00069.html KevinKofler and LesMikesell argued the toss[14] over whether breaking the API was a good idea and how this affected proprietary code ... or not. [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00072.html === GDB Messages Enhanced To Indicate Missing Debuginfo Files === A query from NealBecker asked[1] why running ''gdb'' on a program now produced many warnings of the form "Missing the separate debug info file: /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/XXXXXXX.debug". AndrewHaley responded[2] that the problem was that the appropriate "-debug" packages for the shared libraries were not installed and suggested that the absence of specific information as to which libraries were missing was a bug. [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00300.html [2] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00302.html While acknowledging that it was slightly awkward to find the information MattMiller suggested[3] enabling the debuginfo repository so that YUM could be used to install the missing filename's package. JesseKeating added[4] that it was easier to use {{{debuginfo-install <appname>}}} which would automatically enable the debuginfo repository and install the requisite debuginfo packages. A very informative post from JanKratochvil, a Red Hat employee primarily focusing on GDB, followed[5]. Jan's post showed how to find the name of the library missing debuginfo {{{ls -l /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/fa/XXXX.debug}}}, how to find the RPM package name to install the debuginfo {{{repoquery -qf /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/fa/XXXXX.debug}}} and as suggested previously by MattMiller how to simply install the missing debuginfo package with {{{yum install /usr/lib/debug/.build-id/fa/XXXXX.debug}}}. Jan cautioned that ''debuginfo-install <appname>'' method might not work due to multiple simultaneous debuginfo versions present and he also encouraged discussion on how to improve the output. [3] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00306.html [4] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00307.html [5] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00308.html Further discussion between AndrewHaley and Jan on how to improve the ability of GDB to suggest the correct debuginfo packages uncovered some constraints. Jan pointed[6] out that ''debuginfo-install'' will have problems with dynamically opened libraries, that printing out a suggested RPM package would unacceptably tie GDB to Fedora. These debuginfo files are the result of work by RolandMcGrath and others on BuildID, which is a Fedora 8 feature[7][8], which extended the information in core files to include specific versions of binaries and dynamic shared objects. This enables precise replication of a problem for debugging. Implementing this required changes to the kernel[8a], ''ld'' and other parts of the compiler toolchain and so are of general interest, non-exclusive to Fedora. AndrewHaley suggested[9] that a local (to Fedora) patch could produce his version of perfection, which would be to suggest a specific yum installation command. JamesAntill thought[10] that if perfection and local patching were being considered then tighter integration with rpm or yum could allow the use of ''debuginfo-install <packagename>''. [6] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00312.html [7] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/FeatureBuildId [8] Section 15.2 of the gdb info file explains that a build-id is a section of the executable file which is a unique identification hash which remains constant across multiple builds of the same build tree. [8a] http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0707.1/1702.html [9] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00317.html [10] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00339.html When TomLondon experimented[11] with ''debuginfo-install'' and got a large list of dependencies Jan asked[12] why debuginfo packages were pulling in binary packages and suggested a patch to the redhat rpm macros. RolandMcGrath responded[13] with a suggestion that ''redhat-rpm-config'' should also change. [11] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00350.html [12] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00353.html [13] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00362.html In closing DavidNielsen suggested[14] that PackageKit might aid in figuring out which packages were missing and offering to install them for the user. [14] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00355.html [[Anchor(Documentation)]] == Documentation == In this section, we cover the Fedora Documentation Project. http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === FDSCo results === KarstenWade reports in fedora-docs-list[1], "With a slight delay for the holidays to get the results :), the following persons will be staying or joining the Fedora Documentation Steering Committee (FDSCo): BartCouvreur, JohnBabich, JaredSmith" [1] https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2007-December/msg00351.html [[Anchor(SecurityAdvisories)]] == Security Advisories == In this section, we cover Security Advisories from fedora-package-announce. https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-package-announce Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora 8 Security Advisories === * qt4-4.3.3-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg000… * wordpress-2.3.2-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg000… * libcdio-0.78.2-4.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg001… * asterisk-1.4.17-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg001… * python-cherrypy-2.2.1-8.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… * mantis-1.1.0-1.fc8 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg003… === Fedora 7 Security Advisories === * libcdio-0.78.2-4.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg000… * wordpress-2.3.2-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg000… * qt4-4.3.3-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg001… * asterisk-1.4.17-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg001… * mantis-1.1.0-1.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… * python-cherrypy-2.2.1-8.fc7 - https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-January/msg002… [[Anchor(EventsMeetings)]] == Events and Meetings == In this section, we cover event reports and meeting summaries from various Projects and SIGs. Contributing Writer: ThomasChung === Fedora Board Meeting Minutes 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Ambassadors EMEA Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Documentation Steering Committee 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Engineering Steering Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Infrastructure Meeting Log 2008-01-03 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-infrastructure-list/2008-January/msg… === Fedora Localization Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Marketing Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Packaging Committee Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Quality Assurance Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora Release Engineering Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora SIG EPEL Meeting Week 01/2008 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/epel-devel-list/2008-January/msg00043.html === Fedora SIG KDE Meeting Week 01/2008 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2008-January/msg00216.html === Fedora SIG Store Meeting 2008-MM-DD === * No Report === Fedora SIG Astronomy Meeting Log 2007-12-28 === * https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-astronomy-list/2007-December/msg0004… -- Thomas Chung http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ThomasChung

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Five topics for FWN#114 development beat
by Oisin Feeley 06 Jan '08

06 Jan '08

Hi Thomas, Only five topics this week. As mentioned earlier I'm scaling back a bit. I should mention that I expect to have a hiatus of probably two months from the end of February to the end of April as we're expecting a baby during that time. I am reliably informed that I'll be short on time during this period! So it's probably good to advertise this now to try and find someone to replace me. I intend to try and keep doing this but I definitely can't guarantee it. Anyway, here's this weeks news beat ready for editing, comments and corrections: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Beats/Developments#preview Happy New Year everyone, Oisin Feeley -- Oisin Feeley oisinfeeley(a)imapmail.org

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news January 2008