Frugalware Linux Newsletter - Issue 42

...to inform...to educate...to entertain

There are 10 types of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't. - A geek

Welcome

The newsletter's aim is to keep you up to date with what's happened recently in the world of the Linux distribution 'Frugalware'.

Features of this issue include:

• To infinity...and beyond
• Will the real Cedric(k) please stand up?
• Frugalware's developers are people too - VMiklos
• Tips and tricks - Unlucky in love?
• Focus On Package(s) - lsof

Events

Here's a selection of events which have occurred since the previous newsletter:

• To infinity...and beyond

  26 March 2009, VMiklos announced the codename for the next Frugalware release - 1.1 - "Getorin". It's exciting to try and guess what might be included in the next release.

• Will the real Cedric(k) please stand up?

  In an event that was sure to happen at some point, we have a developer and contributor with very similar first names - Cedrick Hannier and Cédric Archambeau. The following options have been proposed to avoid any confusion between the two Cedric(k)s:

  • Each Cedric(k) could wear a name tag, with their full name clearly marked. Of course someone has already pointed out that this is a stupid option because unless you live in France, they'd be so far away that you couldn't read the name tag;
  • One of the Cedric(k)s could change their name. This is perhaps the simplest option, but neither Cedric(k) seems to like the idea;
  • Each developer or contributor could be assigned a unique, sequential number. This has already been discussed amongst the development team, but no-one could agree on if the numbering should start from 0 or 1.

  I hope we can come up with a solution by the next newsletter.

• Gnome 2.26

  On 25 March 2009, Bouleetbil made available - via the 'current' repo packages for Gnome 2.26. Thanks to him for his hard work. Gnome consists of a lot of packages and it's a difficult and time consuming job to get it all done.

Updates

Here is a selection of packages which have been updated since the previous newsletter:

Frugalware's developers are people too - VMiklos

In this issue we have a very special interview with VMiklos, the founder of Frugalware Linux. I thought it would be interesting to have him look back on the past 5 years and to the future.

What were your goals when you started the Frugalware project?

I had to search back, I could only remember that there were three goals. Here they are:

• A fast package manager, written in C (versus Slackware's pkgtool which was slow and was written in bash);
• I18n support (Slackware's setup was not localised);
• Smooth upgrades between stable releases (at that time there was no slapt-get and upgrades were a PITA);

Do you think you've achieved any of these goals?

Sure:

• The original problem with slow package removals were never the case with pacman;
• I18n support is everywhere, we have 10 localised projects on Pootle;
• We recently introduced upgrade HOWTO, so the change between stable versions is pretty smooth. Actually it must be, since most of the devs administer multiple Frugalware machines. :)

Have your goals changed and if so, how?

We always reach goals and accordingly set new ones. I remember a fast installer was a goal before 0.3, a tool like repoman (to make installing blobs like opera or skype easy) was something users wanted, the automatic package builder was a collection of scripts we really loved when it was introduced, etc. I remember the first time the installer supported the WPA encryption via wireless and we were quite happy. :)

Anyway we have implicitly reached some goals, like trying to be nice to users, respecting users' decisions, having a fully documented and as-open-as-possible infrastructure, and this seems to be unchanged during several releases. (Yes, I stole this list from LGee, as he collected this stuff floating around. :) )

Do you plan a career in IT and if so, do you think your work on Frugalware will help you?

I already work part-time and have already solved many problems at work which would not have been possible without Frugalware. Random example: we have used Git and Pootle for a long time and when we wanted to give it a try at work, I was able to help with that, since I already know them quite well.

In what areas would you like to see Frugalware improved?

On the one hand, Frugalware is already in the shape I think an ideal distribution should look be, so I don't think we will radically change anything in the near future.

On the other hand, we have many smaller targets, for example smaller packages (lzma support), better error handling in the installer, etc.

Do you have all the support you would like, or do you want more developers and contributors?

Currently I maintain 670 packages. This is way too much. I think in an ideal world a developer should maintain about 100-200 packages. So more developers would be nice, though I think we're moving in that direction, we got 4 new developers in 2008, and we already have two new developers this year as well.

Can you give a summary of your experience over the past 5 years?

Lots of funny and instructive stories. :) Other than that, running The Perfect distro on my boxes really makes me pleased (and I do not mean bug-free, there are bugs, but all the concepts are the way I like it), and I have met numerous great developers and users here.

Do you see Frugalware having a long life?

I really don't see what could stop us. :) Also a few of us (devels) are more-or-less paid to work on Frugalware (maintain installed systems) and so we have the ability to use it in a production environment which is yet another reason not to stop development.

Do you think Frugalware would continue if you left the project?

Frugalware is my pet, and during the past 5 years, I got a lot of practice in doing project leadership stuff (resolving personal conflicts, release-engineering, etc.), so in case somebody else would want to do it, it would take a while to hand him everything over. But ideally everything is documented and I think it's possible that one day we meet somebody who has more time or better skills than me, and I won't hesitate to step back in that case. I'm already proud of what we have achieved with this great team.

What's the view from your front door?

I'm sure I provided a photo of the view from my front door in issue 16. Since the view changes from season to season though, here's the current view.

Getting To Know You

In this section of the newsletter, we get to know Frugalware Linux a little at a time. This is not meant to replace the official documentation but instead make it easier to read. This should suit those those people who, like me, have short attention spans. :)

What's going on?

One of the best ways of finding out what's happening with Frugalware is to subscribe to one or more of the mailing lists. Here you can read the discussions behind the various decisions that are made regarding Frugalware. There's also a mailing list which announces the security fixes as they are released. Review the mailing lists available here and subscribe to those that interest you.

Tips and tricks

Disclaimer - Be aware that the hints & tips provided here have NOT been tested and so come with no warranty.

• Free Linux Magazine

  Linux Magazine is available for free in PDF format. Parts of each issue are available a few weeks after the issue was available in printed form, and the remaining articles are added until the complete issue is available, usually 4 months after it was available in printed form. Linux Magazine is an excellent magazine which covers a broad range of Linux-related topics and has articles which suit people from newbie to experienced Linux users.

• Unlucky in love?

  If you find that you're unlucky in love, it just might be you that's the problem. Some people aren't attracted to geeks but don't worry, because here's one way to improve your chances of finding "true love". Find people that are much geekier than you and, when the person to whom you're attracted sees you with them, you'll actually appear normal and so more attractive! The key to success is finding the right people. The type of people that you need to look for:

  • Use vi, Emacs or - even better - both;
  • Wear a binary watch and are proud to do so;
  • Calculate their age according to the Unix epoch.

  You don't have to actually like these people; it's good enough to pretend. At the right moment, provoke a discussion about which is the best editor - vi or Emacs. You must appear utterly confused, or this technique will fail. Remember that you must NOT contribute to the discussion.

  Good luck and "May the Force be with you".

This section relies on your contributions! If you have some tips and tricks that you would like to be shown in the newsletter, please post them on the forums.

Focus On Package(s)

lsof

"Lsof is a Unix-specific diagnostic tool. Its name stands for LiSt Open Files, and it does just that. It lists information about any files that are open by processes currently running on the system. It can also list communications open by each process."

lsof is more useful than you might first think because, in UNIX, everything is a file. It's extremely useful, for example, when you know some process has a file open but it's not obvious just which process has it open. For some great examples of what it can be used for, refer to this page.

Bug fixes

The following table gives you a overview of activity on bugs and feature requests as at 6 April 2009. In each cell of the table is a link to a detailed list of the relevant bugs or feature requests.

Security announcements

Remember - According to the normal support arrangements for Frugalware, the release of 1.0 ("Anacreon") means that no further security or bug fixes will be released for Frugalware 0.9 ("Solaria") or earlier releases.

Here is a list of security issues which have been discovered and fixed in the 1.0 release since the previous newsletter.

About the newsletter

Author

The Frugalware newsletter is written and edited by Russell Dickenson (AKA phayz). Credit for the Frugalware distribution goes to the development team.

Translations

The newsletter is currently translated into French and Danish. The French translation is provided by the French Frugalware community. The Danish translation is provided by the Danish Frugalware community. Thanks to all those involved in providing and hosting these translations.

Release

To allow time for review and corrections, each newsletter is written ahead of its release date. Therefore it may not mention events which occurred in the few days before its release - e.g. security fixes. To be sure that you've got the very latest information on these topics, go to the appropriate page of the Frugalware web site.

Feedback

If you have feedback about the Frugalware newsletter - whether good or bad - please provide it via the forums. Your feedback is valuable because we want the newsletter to meet the needs of Frugalware's users.