Fedora 26 talking points

These are the Talking Points for the Fedora 26 release. For information on how these talking points were chosen, see Talking Points SOP. They are intended to help Ambassadors quickly present an overview of highlighted features when talking about the release, and to help drive content for the release, etc.

The talking points are based in part on the Change Set for this release.

Overall Release Story

On Alpha and Beta releases we had some delays to make this release as shiny as we can, but now, we are ready to show you the great and new Fedora 26!

Fedora-Wide Changes and Improvements

All changes are listed below, ones to highlight are listed first

Changes to talk about for regular users

LXQt Spin

A Fedora Spin providing the LXQt desktop environment.

Python Classroom Lab

A new Python Classroom Lab will be created in 3 variants: Workstation based, Docker based and Vagrant based. It's an important step for our Fedora Loves Python initiative. The main audience are Python teachers and workshop instructors.

Changes affecting security

Switch OpenLDAP from NSS to OpenSSL

Currently, OpenLDAP in Fedora is compiled with NSS (aka MozNSS) for cypto. OpenLDAP is going to be compiled with OpenSSL, instead.

Kerberos KCM credential cache by default

Default to a new Kerberos credential cache type called KCM which is better suited for containerized environments and provides a better user experience in the general case as well.

OpenSSL 1.1.0

Rebase of OpenSSL package to 1.1.0 version

OpenSSH Crypto Policy (Client)

OpenSSH client will follow system-wide crypto policies already followed by other cryptographic libraries and tools. It will allow to use different security levels defined system-wide.

Java/OpenJDK enforces the system-wide crypto policy

As it is now, the System-wide crypto policy in F25 is enforced by the OpenSSL, GnuTLS and NSS TLS libraries. To harmonize crypto across all applications in Fedora, including the Java ones, OpenJDK is enhanced to respect the settings of the system-wide crypto policy as well.

Replace Coolkey with OpenSC

There are more PKCS#11 libraries supporting the same smart cards in the system. For the next releases, we would like to promote OpenSC as a default PKCS#11 provided in place where Coolkey driver is used these days, which will

Changes to talk about for developers

GCC7

Switch GCC in Fedora 26 to 7.x.y, rebuild all packages with it, or optionally rebuild just some packages with it and rebuild all packages only in Fedora 27.

Parallel Installable Debuginfo

debuginfo packages can be installed in parallel to make it easier to trace, profile and observe what programs are doing or to debug when they have crashed. That way debugging, tracing or profiling programs can be done independent of whether they are 32bit, 64bit, a slightly newer or older version than currently installed or even from a different architecture.

pkgconf as system pkg-config implementation

This change switches Fedora's system-wide/default pkg-config implementation to pkgconf, a new implementation of pkg-config that provides better support for handling .pc files and a stable library ABI/API for integrating into applications.

Golang 1.8

Rebase of Golang package to upcoming version 1.8 in Fedora 26, including rebuild of all dependent packages.

Ruby 2.4

Ruby 2.4 is the latest stable version of Ruby. Many new features and improvements are included for the increasingly diverse and expanding demands for Ruby. With this major update from Ruby 2.3 in Fedora 24 to Ruby 2.4 in Fedora 26, Fedora becomes the superior Ruby development platform.

Debugging Information For Static Libraries

This change proposes to ship debugging information in static libraries.

Fedora 26 C/C++ Compilation Flags Updates

This change updates the default C/C++ compilation flags, as determined by the redhat-rpm-config package.

Python 3.6

The system Python 3 stack has been upgraded to Python 3.6.1, and includes a backport of Python 3.7's C locale coercion feature (where the ASCII-based C locale is replaced with C.UTF-8 at interpreter startup, which is expected to significantly reduce the occurrence of unwanted Unicode encoding and decoding errors).

All changes

These changes have been accepted by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee for the Fedora 26 Release as System Wide Changes.

SSSD fast cache for local users

Enable resolving all users through the sss NSS modules for better performance.

Python Classroom Lab

A new Python Classroom Lab will be created in 3 variants: Workstation based, Docker based and Vagrant based. It's an important step for our Fedora Loves Python initiative. The main audience are Python teachers and workshop instructors.

Kerberos KCM credential cache by default

Default to a new Kerberos credential cache type called KCM which is better suited for containerized environments and provides a better user experience in the general case as well.

GNOME 3.24

Update GNOME to the latest upstream release, 3.24

Enable TRIM pass down to encrypted disks

Override kernel default for dm-crypt mappings of LUKS1 encrypted volumes via flag put in /etc/crypttab file. This change should affect only newly created encrypted storage based on LUKS1 format during installation.

Separate Subpackage and Source Debuginfo

Allow to install just the debuginfo for a subpackage and/or without the source files. The debuginfo packages are huge because they contain debuginfo and all sources for all subpackages. Being able to install only the debuginfo for the subpackage that is installed reduces the size that needs to be downloaded to analyze, trace, profile or debug a program or core file. Some tracing and profiling tools don't need the actual source files to provide stack traces or insert probes. So installing the debugsources should be optional.

Modular Server Preview

As we progress down the modularity path, we finally have enough content, architecture and understanding that we would like to release an edition of Fedora that is actually usable. However, as we aren't ready for production yet, we would like to do a "preview" release so that people can see it and try it but it doesn't actually take the place of a production edition. As such this Change Proposal requests that we set up a "Modular Server Edition" with some sort of flag that indicates that it is meant for experimentation and not real use. We plan to model the Server Edition in content and most use scenarios.

GCC7

Switch GCC in Fedora 26 to 7.x.y, rebuild all packages with it, or optionally rebuild just some packages with it and rebuild all packages only in Fedora 27.

Parallel Installable Debuginfo

debuginfo packages can be installed in parallel to make it easier to trace, profile and observe what programs are doing or to debug when they have crashed. That way debugging, tracing or profiling programs can be done independent of whether they are 32bit, 64bit, a slightly newer or older version than currently installed or even from a different architecture.

pkgconf as system pkg-config implementation

This change switches Fedora's system-wide/default pkg-config implementation to pkgconf, a new implementation of pkg-config that provides better support for handling .pc files and a stable library ABI/API for integrating into applications.

Switch OpenLDAP from NSS to OpenSSL

Currently, OpenLDAP in Fedora is compiled with NSS (aka MozNSS) for cypto. OpenLDAP is going to be compiled with OpenSSL, instead.

Golang 1.8

Rebase of Golang package to upcoming version 1.8 in Fedora 26, including rebuild of all dependent packages.

Ruby 2.4

Ruby 2.4 is the latest stable version of Ruby. Many new features and improvements are included for the increasingly diverse and expanding demands for Ruby. With this major update from Ruby 2.3 in Fedora 24 to Ruby 2.4 in Fedora 26, Fedora becomes the superior Ruby development platform.

Enable systemd-coredump by default

Enable systemd-coredump by default. Core dumps will be accessible via the coredumpctl tool.

GHC 8.0

Update the GHC Haskell compiler in Fedora from version 7.10 to the current stable version 8.0, with much improved support for aarch64, ppc64, and ppc64le.

Debugging Information For Static Libraries

This change proposes to ship debugging information in static libraries.

Fedora 26 Boost 1.63 upgrade

This change brings Boost 1.63.0 to Fedora 26. This will mean F26 ships with a recent upstream Boost release.

Fedora 26 C/C++ Compilation Flags Updates

This change updates the default C/C++ compilation flags, as determined by the redhat-rpm-config package.

Retire Synaptics Driver

Retire the xorg-x11-drv-synaptics driver and remove it from user's install.

AARCH64 - 48-bit VA

Enable 48bit VA on AARCH64

OpenSSL 1.1.0

Rebase of OpenSSL package to 1.1.0 version

DNF 2.0

DNF rebase to version 2.0.

Python 3.6

Update the Python 3 stack in Fedora from Python 3.5 to Python 3.6.

Fedora 26 Accepted Self Contained Changes Proposals

These changes have been accepted by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee for the Fedora 26 Release as Self Contained Changes.

Making sudo pip Safe (Again)

At the present time, running sudo pip3 in Fedora is not safe. Pip shares its installation directory with dnf, can remove dnf-managed files and generally break the Python 3 interpreter. We propose a series of measures that will make it safe to use.

Replace Coolkey with OpenSC

There are more PKCS#11 libraries supporting the same smart cards in the system. For the next releases, we would like to promote OpenSC as a default PKCS#11 provided in place where Coolkey driver is used these days, which will

LDC 1.1.0

Update LDC to 1.1.0 in Fedora 26.

Container Minimal Image

Produce a new container image that contains as little as possible, but also still provides the ability to install packages from dnf repositories.

Docker Overlay 2

Change the default Docker Storage to use OverlayFS via the overlay2 driver, for better performance.

LXQt Spin

A Fedora Spin providing the LXQt desktop environment.

NetworkManager 1.8

Update to NetworkManager to version 1.8.

Automated AMI test and release

We will test the AMI image we build on one single region using the same tests used in Vagrant/local Autocloud testing, and if the tests pass, then only the AMI will be uploaded to all the regions and released.

Fontconfig cache directory change

The fontconfig cache files are placed onto /var/cache/fontconfig now. this seems incompatible with the ostree model. so this is a proposal to move it to /usr/lib/fontconfig/cache.

Base Runtime

We will deliver the first release of Base Runtime, a module providing base operating system features that application level modules can build and depend on. This module will be the foundation of the new modular Fedora 26 Server release.

Golang buildmode PIE

Change default build mode of golang in Fedora packaging macros to buildmode=pie, which results in packages using them to produce Position Independent Executables. Another part of the change is to pass the Fedora hardened linker flags to the external linker(regular system linker). In result reducing exploit-ability of binaries.

Authconfig Cleanup

Removal of obsolete and unmaintainable code from Authconfig such as the support for configuring Hesiod and the authconfig GTK2 based GUI and TUI.

Java/OpenJDK enforces the system-wide crypto policy

As it is now, the System-wide crypto policy in F25 is enforced by the OpenSSL, GnuTLS and NSS TLS libraries. To harmonize crypto across all applications in Fedora, including the Java ones, OpenJDK is enhanced to respect the settings of the system-wide crypto policy as well.

Zend Framework 3

Update Zend Framework to latest version 3.

Modular Compose

For Fedora 26, we would like to modify the compose tools (pungi) to produce an additional experimental variant, derived from modules built in the Module Build Service.

Module Build Service

We will deploy an instance of the Module Build Service to production in Fedora Infrastructure. Other teams will use this service to produce some "modular" content for the Fedora 26 release.

Blivet-GUI in Anaconda

Add blivet-gui as an alternative option for storage configuration in Anaconda Installer.

PHP 7.1

Update the PHP stack in Fedora to latest version 7.1.x

BIND version 9.11

BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain) version 9.11 is the latest stable major update of the widely used DNS server. Besides new features, some settings defaults have changed since the previous major version (9.10).

OpenSSH Crypto Policy (Client)

OpenSSH client will follow system-wide crypto policies already followed by other cryptographic libraries and tools. It will allow to use different security levels defined system-wide.

Fedora Atomic

• Containerized Kubernetes - Fedora Atomic 26 offers containerized Kubernetes as an alternative to the built-in Kubernetes binaries, so that users can run different versions. This is in preparation for removing the built-in Kubernetes and etcd in Fedora Atomic 27.
• Improvements in Package Layering - Latest rpm-ostree, including support for direct rpm install, a reload command, idempotence of package install, and a cleanup command. LiveFS layering will allow layering of some package sets without a reboot.
• Docker Overlay 2 - Change the default Docker Storage to use OverlayFS via the overlay2 driver, which eliminates the need for a separate Docker partition and improves performance.
• Rapid Periodic Stable Releases - In the middle of the Fedora 25 release cycle the Atomic team started only releasing ostree content after it had been tested and every two weeks. This continues with Fedora 26. In addition, the released images that are produced will have GPG verification enabled by default so that any future updates will have an extra level of integrity checking.
• System Containers - System Containers, a way of installing system infrastructure software (like networking or Kubernetes) on Atomic in a container, are now enabled via atomic install.
• atomic 1.18.1 - The atomic CLI has been enhanced to support system containers and making container diffs.
• Docker 1.13 - The current version of Docker which ships with Atomic is now 1.13. This includes a CLI overhaul and support for docker build --squash.
• Cockpit 143 - Latest version of Cockpit, including support for ostree rebase and choosing ostree remotes, container scanning output, and internationalization.

Fedora Server

• FreeIPA 4.5
  • Support for short names for AD users
  • FIPS 140-2 support
  • Client certificate identity mapping
  • Better integration with external DNS servers
  • Fully-customizable certificate authority name
• Cockpit
  • Latest version of Cockpit administration console
  • Show "Locked/Unlocked" indicator for privilege escalation in the top bar
  • Support for configuring kdump kernel crash dumping
  • Cockpit can roll back network configuration that would otherwise disconnect an admin from the system
  • Cockpit is now fully translatable, languages with the best Zanata coverage are Polish, Ukranian, Chinese, and Spanish
  • Cockpit now honors system-defined SSH host keys
  • Cockpit will now generate default certificates with a private CA certificate that can be safely shared
  • Kerberos authentication works even if gss-proxy is in use
  • Improved support for running Cockpit behind a proxy

Fedora Workstation

• Night Light - GNOME now integrates the Natural Light Filter feature. It changes the color temperature of your displays according to the time of day. It helps you prevent sleeplessness and eye strain. It works both on X and Wayland.
• Revamped Settings - Three areas of the Settings application have seen design updates - Online Accounts, Printers, Users. The printer settings now give a better overview at a glance. Online Accounts has a cleaner interface. Users has a new “carousel” switcher and an overall better layout.
• Enhanced Notifications Area - the Notifications area hidden under the time&date on the top bar has been refreshed. The notifications list has a simpler, cleaner layout. Weather information has been newly integrated into the notifications area.
• Bigger, Brighter Icons - the GNOME's high resolution icons got even bigger, doubling in size from 256×256px to 512×512px. Many device, file type and application icons have been refreshed to look more modern.
• Builder - features a lot a improvements including enhanced support for a range of build systems such as Flatpak, CMake, Meson, Rust. It also integrates Valgrind to make it easy to profile your project.
• Improved Compatibility with Qt Apps - the standard Adwaita theme for Qt has been significantly improved and now looks much closer to its GTK counterpart. There are also two other variants ported to Qt - dark and high contrast. So if you decide to switch to the dark or high-contrast Adwaita, Qt applications will switch via QGnomePlatform as well.
• Tracker - The tracker indexing service has been sandboxed for better resilience against attacks.
• Applications
  • LibreOffice 5.3 - It includes a preview of the new experimental NotebookBar UI and has a new cross-platform text layout engine that ensures consistent text layout on all platforms. You can now add custom colors directly in the color chooser dialog. Writer gets table styles. Calc improves compatibility with the ODF 1.2 format. Impress gets two new default presentation templates. Draw gets new arrow endings. Base now uses Firebird 3.0. More in the upstream release notes.
  • Fedora Media Writer - the new version allows you to create bootable SD cards with Fedora for ARM devices such as Raspberry Pi. Support for Windows 7 and screenshot handling have been improved. The utility also notifies you when a new release of Fedora is available.

Spins

KDE Plasma Desktop

The software released by the KDE community - Frameworks, Plasma, KDE Applications, and all the other applications with independent release schedule - was updated bringing fixes and improvements. For more information, please check:

• the announcements page on KDE website, with the releases for Frameworks, Plasma and KDE Applications;
• the archives of the kde-announce-apps mailing list, where the releases of applications with independent release schedule are announced.

Few other highlights:

• More Qt5/Frameworks 5 applications: Konqueror, Okular, Calligra and Kexi are now Frameworks-based
• Updated QtWebEngine: up to version 5.9.x

LXQt

• LXQt version 0.11.x where x is not common for all components as there were bugfix releases for some of them.
• Qt5 only packages: with similar theming for gtk apps (breeze theme).
• Essential apps: Include only essential apps by default to improve user experience after installation (avoiding to clean up useless stuffs), reducing the size of the image and reducing the footprint on disk
• dnfdragora for graphical package management: This is a shining new feature, because dnfdragora will hit F27, but for LXQt Spin, there will not be yumex-dnf.
• Openbox window manager but with possibility to switch to Kwin for nice graphical effects.

Cinnamon

• Cinnamon Desktop: Version 3.4
• Theme: A new default theme, arc-dark.
• Slick-Greeter: Slick-Greeter is now used as the LightDM login greeter, providing HiDPI support and better visual integration with Cinnamon.
• dnfdragora: dnfdragora is now used instead of yumex-dnf for graphical package management.
• Blueberry: Blueberry is now the bluetooth widget.
• MP3 support: MP3 playback support for gstreamer applications is now included.

Labs

Design Suite

• Gnome Books:A e-books manager application for GNOME
• Gnome ToDo: Personal task manager for GNOME
• Inkscape: Updated to version 0.92. SVG format now complies to W3C standard meaning saved files handles 96dpi.

Upgrading to the Latest Release

To learn how to upgrade to the latest release from a recent Fedora release using DNF, see here.

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