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Contributing Writer: [[User:Ush|Oisin Feeley]]
Contributing Writer: [[User:Ush|Oisin Feeley]]


=== Noarch with pkconfig Files ===
=== Would You Like to Write This Beat ? ===


PeterRobinson asked<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00162.html</ref> for help building his <package>gupnp-vala</package> package as noarch. The complication was that it contained a <code>pkgconfig</code> file.
Following this issue (FWN#178) I will, with regret, no longer be covering the @fedora-devel list. If you are interested in writing this weekly summary of the deeds and doings on the list then please contact fedora-news-list@redhat.com or [[User:Pcalarco|Pascal Calarco]]. A short overview of what you may need to do can be obtained by reading the workflow<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/WorkFlow</ref> section of the wiki. The @fedora-news list is also extremely open and helpful. Joining<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/NewsProject/Join</ref> the News Project is quite straightforward.


Several helpful responses, such as MichaelSchwendt's<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00163.html</ref> suggested installing <code>pkgconfig</code> files into <code>/usr/share/pkgconfig</code> instead of one of the <code>/usr/lib</code> directories. ToshioKuratomi thought<ref></ref>
<references/>


VilleSkyttä ran<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2010-April/msg00194.html</ref> the <code>rpmlint</code> check and confirmed that it warned exactly of this misuse of a <code>libdir</code> macro.
=== Is gNaughty a Hot Babe ? ===


In response to a subsidiary question JesseKeating explained<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00164.html</ref> that the <code>noarch</code> packages merely appeared to be present in each of the different architecture trees because they were hardlinked.  
[[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]] posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02071.html</ref> the results of a survey conducted, primarily on @fedora-list and on the forums, to discover which non-repository-packaged software Fedora consumers were using.  


=== Fedora and OpenSolaris Dualboot Issue Solved ===
One interesting point is that CMUCL<ref>One of the Common Lisp implementations: http://www.cons.org/cmucl/</ref> was revealed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02088.html</ref> to be only available for 32-bit systems. However what got people really excited was<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02136.html</ref> Rahul's question about what to do concerning the <code>gNaughty</code> package. Its sole purpose seemed<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02203.html</ref> to be downloading pornography. Rahul referenced the <code>hot-babe</code> CPU monitor which enjoyed controversy in Debian packaging circles due to its use of female nudity.  Rahul wanted to find out "[...] is this allowed in Fedora?"


After AhmedKamal reported<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00177.html</ref> that a <code>ZFS</code> formatted partition seemed to be causing a <code>Fedora 11 Beta</code> installation failure there was a quick response. EricSandeen noted<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00195.html</ref> that a patch had already been produced<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/anaconda-devel-list/2009-April/msg00131.html</ref> by DaveLehman to merely log the problem instead of raising an error. The bugzilla entry suggested<ref>https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=494070</ref> that the root problem was due to <code>udev</code> failing to recognize <code>ZFS</code> properly.
Amusingly a good deal of the controversy focused on whether the content was freely redistributable, but a predictable moral angle was raised<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02242.html</ref> by [[User:Alsadi|Muayyad AlSadi]] who asked for help in producing a spin which removed content deemed objectionable. Muayyad is a Jordanian developer who has been producing an Arabic-localized Fedora spin named "Ojuba" for some time. Muayyad sought a way to make identifying and tagging packages easier to facilitate this spin. [[User:Notting|Bill Nottingham]] was<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02312.html</ref> skeptical about the chances of tags keeping meaning unless there was some sort of review board. Equally predictable was<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02295.html</ref> the reaction typified by [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] which resisted any attempt to restrict packages according to standards which had nothing to do with licensing or patent issues. [[User:bochcecha|Mathieu Bridon]] thought<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02355.html</ref> that the creation of a wiki-page by Muayyad would allow anyone interested in co-ordinating work on "Inappropriate Content" to just go ahead and do it without dragging in bureaucracy.


=== fallocate(2) Preferred Glibc Interface for Preallocation ? ===
<references/>


JamesRalson noted<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00110.html</ref> the adoption of the <code>ext4</code> filesystem in <code>Fedora 11</code> and suggested that in order to use its preallocation features more efficiently it would be useful to patch applications. This could help avoid the current "double write" penalty currently incurred<ref>http://kernelnewbies.org/Ext4#head-3a678beda18002402ba62cf0292fae849d105271</ref> by preallocation in which the reserved space is first filled with nulls. James wondered whether there was a better interface to do this than <code>glibc</code>'s <code>posix_fallocate()</code> which first attempts the allocation and then falls "[...] back to writing nulls to fill up the requested range if fallocate() fails."
=== Chrome9 Vx800 Graphics Support on LiveUSB ===


EricSandeen suggested<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00117.html</ref> using <code>fallocate(2)</code> which is present in the <code>glibc</code> version in rawhide and provided a test program to investigate how well this would work.
[[KristapsViesalgs|Kristaps Viesalgs]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02146.html</ref> for help in getting the Fedora Live USB to boot correctly on a machine using a Via Vx800 "Chrome9" GPU. Kristaps had some success with the latest upstream version (from their subversion repository) and asked: "Is there any brutal option how to properly boot X with vesa driver, install Fedora, then make openchrome svn installation? Is Fedora planning to make for VIA graphic chipset autoconfiguration utility?"


=== Rawhide Report Glitches Resolved ===
[[User:Ajax|Adam Jackson]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02154.html</ref> for a more specific bug report because the chip should be supported. He preferred not to ship an autoconfiguration utility instead of just getting the driver correct. Similar points were made by [[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]] and [[User:|Xavier Bachelot]]. The latter asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02163.html</ref> any interested developers to help out the openchrome project in both the 2D and 3D(Gallium) sides.


After a few "Rawhide Reports" were missed AlexLancaster asked<ref></ref> what was going on. JoshBoyer answered<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00139.html</ref> that <code>pungi</code> for <code>i386</code> was failing.
<references/>


Rawhide Reports resumed<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00192.html</ref> on 2009-04-04.
=== Who Wants a Pony? ===


=== XULRunner Committable by non-Provenpackagers ===
[[User:Kushal|Kushal Das]] promised<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02139.html</ref> a pony to anyone that would take the trouble to review<ref>http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=503021</ref> one of his packages.


The summary of the 2009-04-03 FESCo meeting indicated<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00199.html</ref> that "Firefox/Thunderbird/XULRunner" are open for commits by those who do not have "provenpackager" status. Also discussed and declined for such changes were: <code>popt</code>; <code>initscripts</code>; <code>ethtool</code>; lvm-related packages; and <code>hwdata</code>.
<references/>


JonStanley also noted<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00109.html</ref> that he was going to shoulder the burden of providing his excellent summaries of FESCo meetings.
=== Firestarter Retired as Unportable to PolicyKit ===


=== Provenpackager Policies ===
[[User:Maxamillion|Adam Miller]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02089.html</ref> whether he should just retire the <code>Firestarter</code><ref>Firestarter is a firewall configuration GUI</ref> package for which he had recently become the maintainer. His query was based on the recent filing of RFEs to integrate <code>Firestarter</code> with <code>PolicyKit</code>. These suggested to Adam that a large amount of work would be needed due to the lack of any upstream activity for four years and the need to grok <code>PolicyKit</code>.


Also discussed in the 2009-04-04 FESCo meeting were several requests for "provenpackager" and "sponsor" status. This followed<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00067.html</ref> on the heels of work done by PatriceDumas to codify some meanings and processes around "provenpackagers".
Following confirmation from [[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]] and [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]] a decision was made<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02094.html</ref> by Adam: "I would honestly rather retire the package than do a WONTFIX, if the project as a whole is going the direction of PolicyKit and upstream is dead then I don't want to keep old and busted cruft around the repositories as Fedora continues to look towards the future."
A further suggestion from "Cry" prompted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02122.html</ref> Adam to start filing RFEs against <code>system-config-firewall</code> for any features present in <code>Firestarter</code> but missing in <code>system-config-firewall</code>.
<references/>


A general concern was expressed<ref></ref> in the IRC meeting that the ability of a provenpackager to modify others' packages should not be used lightly. DavidWoodhouse warned that "provenpackagers who commit to other packages without even _trying_ to coordinate with the owner should expect censure" and JonStanley posted a helpful link<ref>https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Who_is_allowed_to_modify_which_packages</ref> to a wiki entry on "Who is allowed to modify which packages".
=== Russian Fedora ? ===


=== Python3K Planning ===
When [[User:Peter|Peter Lemenkov]] asked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02013.html</ref> about the idea of creating a Fedora Foundation outside of the U.S.A. the usual arguments from the past few years were rehashed. [[User:Kkofler|Kevin Kofler]] gave<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02025.html</ref> an able summary why this would still present Red Hat with a problem.


ToshioKuratomi reported<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00085.html</ref> on a PyCon<ref>http://us.pycon.org/</ref> talk on Python 3 incompatibility which he had attended. LennartRegebro's "Python 3 Compatibility"<ref>http://us.pycon.org/media/2009/talkdata/PyCon2009/074/Python_3_Compatibility.pdf</ref> talk stimulated Toshio to consider how to port older python code to python-2.6's py3 compatiblity layer.
An assertion by [[User:|Alexey Torkhov]] that there existed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02390.html</ref> a Red Hat-sanctioned "RussianFedora" spin which contained mp3 codecs and other material excluded from the actual Fedora Project repositories drew demands for proof from [[User:Sundaram|Rahul Sundaram]].


When JochenSchmitt suggested a compatibility package TomCallaway replied<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00089.html</ref> that this would just be a crutch that perpetuated upstream projects unwillingness to move to Python 3. Tom preferred that Fedora developers would "[...] help port such applications to Python 3, and do so in a way that they detect the version of python at runtime and set defines appropriately. That way, we can have applications ready for Python3 before we actually make the switch."
<references/>


There seemed<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00104.html</ref> to be rough agreement between ToshioKuratomi and JamesAntill that some way of allowing python3 modules and an interpreter in parallel to python-2 would be necessary.
=== Will FESCo Revisit Kmods ? ===


IgnacioVazquezAbrams linked<ref>https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-April/msg00140.html</ref> to video of all the PyCon 2009 sessions.
A discussion of why <code>VirtualBox</code> will not be a feature due to its code not yet heading upstream and consequently remaining as <code>kmods</code> drew a statement of support from [[User:Kkofler|Kevin Kofler]] for reverting the current banning of <code>kmods</code> should he become a FESCo member. Upon request from [[RichardJones|Richard W.M. Jones]] for a dispassionate summary of the reasons to avoid <code>kmods</code> drew<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02254.html</ref> a concise response from [[User:Skvidal|Seth Vidal]].
 
[[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]] and [[User:Mdomsch|Matt Domsch]] (Dell's DKMS mastermind) kicked<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02368.html</ref> some ideas back and forth over the advantages of <code>akmods</code> versus <code>kmods</code>.
 
<references/>
 
=== Upgrade from Fedora 10 to Rawhide (Fedora 11) ===
 
Following a report from [[UweKiewel|Uwe Kiewel]] that a <pre>yum upgrade</pre> had spewed all sorts of errors the supported methods for upgrades were re-stated<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02041.html</ref> by [[User:Adamwill|Adam Williamson]]: "[I]f you talk to the people most involved in implementing it (Seth) and testing it (Will) they will tell you that doing live upgrades via yum can't really ever be 100% safe for various reasons, but preupgrade can get very close and is useful in all the same cases. So their position is, we support preupgrade, we don't support yum. If yum works, great, if it doesn't, you can bug people to fix whatever it stopping it working, but it's not 'required' by any policy or guideline."
 
<references/>

Latest revision as of 01:15, 1 June 2009

Developments

In this section the people, personalities and debates on the @fedora-devel mailing list are summarized.

Contributing Writer: Oisin Feeley

Would You Like to Write This Beat ?

Following this issue (FWN#178) I will, with regret, no longer be covering the @fedora-devel list. If you are interested in writing this weekly summary of the deeds and doings on the list then please contact fedora-news-list@redhat.com or Pascal Calarco. A short overview of what you may need to do can be obtained by reading the workflow[1] section of the wiki. The @fedora-news list is also extremely open and helpful. Joining[2] the News Project is quite straightforward.

  1. ↑ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/WorkFlow
  2. ↑ http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/NewsProject/Join

Is gNaughty a Hot Babe ?

Rahul Sundaram posted[1] the results of a survey conducted, primarily on @fedora-list and on the forums, to discover which non-repository-packaged software Fedora consumers were using.

One interesting point is that CMUCL[2] was revealed[3] to be only available for 32-bit systems. However what got people really excited was[4] Rahul's question about what to do concerning the gNaughty package. Its sole purpose seemed[5] to be downloading pornography. Rahul referenced the hot-babe CPU monitor which enjoyed controversy in Debian packaging circles due to its use of female nudity. Rahul wanted to find out "[...] is this allowed in Fedora?"

Amusingly a good deal of the controversy focused on whether the content was freely redistributable, but a predictable moral angle was raised[6] by Muayyad AlSadi who asked for help in producing a spin which removed content deemed objectionable. Muayyad is a Jordanian developer who has been producing an Arabic-localized Fedora spin named "Ojuba" for some time. Muayyad sought a way to make identifying and tagging packages easier to facilitate this spin. Bill Nottingham was[7] skeptical about the chances of tags keeping meaning unless there was some sort of review board. Equally predictable was[8] the reaction typified by Seth Vidal which resisted any attempt to restrict packages according to standards which had nothing to do with licensing or patent issues. Mathieu Bridon thought[9] that the creation of a wiki-page by Muayyad would allow anyone interested in co-ordinating work on "Inappropriate Content" to just go ahead and do it without dragging in bureaucracy.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02071.html
  2. ↑ One of the Common Lisp implementations: http://www.cons.org/cmucl/
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02088.html
  4. ↑ https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02136.html
  5. ↑ https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02203.html
  6. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02242.html
  7. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02312.html
  8. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02295.html
  9. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02355.html

Chrome9 Vx800 Graphics Support on LiveUSB

Kristaps Viesalgs asked[1] for help in getting the Fedora Live USB to boot correctly on a machine using a Via Vx800 "Chrome9" GPU. Kristaps had some success with the latest upstream version (from their subversion repository) and asked: "Is there any brutal option how to properly boot X with vesa driver, install Fedora, then make openchrome svn installation? Is Fedora planning to make for VIA graphic chipset autoconfiguration utility?"

Adam Jackson asked[2] for a more specific bug report because the chip should be supported. He preferred not to ship an autoconfiguration utility instead of just getting the driver correct. Similar points were made by Adam Williamson and [[User:|Xavier Bachelot]]. The latter asked[3] any interested developers to help out the openchrome project in both the 2D and 3D(Gallium) sides.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02146.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02154.html
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02163.html

Who Wants a Pony?

Kushal Das promised[1] a pony to anyone that would take the trouble to review[2] one of his packages.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02139.html
  2. ↑ http://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=503021

Firestarter Retired as Unportable to PolicyKit

Adam Miller asked[1] whether he should just retire the Firestarter[2] package for which he had recently become the maintainer. His query was based on the recent filing of RFEs to integrate Firestarter with PolicyKit. These suggested to Adam that a large amount of work would be needed due to the lack of any upstream activity for four years and the need to grok PolicyKit.

Following confirmation from Rahul Sundaram and Seth Vidal a decision was made[3] by Adam: "I would honestly rather retire the package than do a WONTFIX, if the project as a whole is going the direction of PolicyKit and upstream is dead then I don't want to keep old and busted cruft around the repositories as Fedora continues to look towards the future."

A further suggestion from "Cry" prompted[4] Adam to start filing RFEs against system-config-firewall for any features present in Firestarter but missing in system-config-firewall.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02089.html
  2. ↑ Firestarter is a firewall configuration GUI
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02094.html
  4. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02122.html

Russian Fedora ?

When Peter Lemenkov asked[1] about the idea of creating a Fedora Foundation outside of the U.S.A. the usual arguments from the past few years were rehashed. Kevin Kofler gave[2] an able summary why this would still present Red Hat with a problem.

An assertion by [[User:|Alexey Torkhov]] that there existed[3] a Red Hat-sanctioned "RussianFedora" spin which contained mp3 codecs and other material excluded from the actual Fedora Project repositories drew demands for proof from Rahul Sundaram.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02013.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02025.html
  3. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02390.html

Will FESCo Revisit Kmods ?

A discussion of why VirtualBox will not be a feature due to its code not yet heading upstream and consequently remaining as kmods drew a statement of support from Kevin Kofler for reverting the current banning of kmods should he become a FESCo member. Upon request from Richard W.M. Jones for a dispassionate summary of the reasons to avoid kmods drew[1] a concise response from Seth Vidal.

Adam Williamson and Matt Domsch (Dell's DKMS mastermind) kicked[2] some ideas back and forth over the advantages of akmods versus kmods.

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02254.html
  2. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02368.html

Upgrade from Fedora 10 to Rawhide (Fedora 11)

Following a report from Uwe Kiewel that a 

yum upgrade

had spewed all sorts of errors the supported methods for upgrades were re-stated[1] by Adam Williamson: "[I]f you talk to the people most involved in implementing it (Seth) and testing it (Will) they will tell you that doing live upgrades via yum can't really ever be 100% safe for various reasons, but preupgrade can get very close and is useful in all the same cases. So their position is, we support preupgrade, we don't support yum. If yum works, great, if it doesn't, you can bug people to fix whatever it stopping it working, but it's not 'required' by any policy or guideline."

  1. ↑ http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-devel-list/2009-May/msg02041.html
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