Changes 10.2 current

Purpose

The purpose of this file is to document the new packages (Package Additions) and removed packages (Package Removals) during the development cycle from Slackware 10.2 through Slackware 11.0, as well as to point out some potential "gotchas" that can users can avoid by arming themselves with a little knowledge.

Package Additions Since 10.2

• a/pcmciautils
• a/sharutils (split from bin)
• a/acl (split from xfsprogs)
• a/attr (split from xfsprogs)
• a/sysfsutils
• a/sysstat
• ap/diffstat
• ap/dmapi (split from xfsprogs)
• ap/linuxdoc-tools
• ap/lm_sensors
• ap/xfsdump (split from xfsprogs)
• d/git
• d/mercurial
• d/ruby
• kde/amarok
• kde/qca
• kde/qca-tls
• l/apr
• l/apr-util
• l/cairo
• l/db42 (for backwards compatibility)
• l/db44 (upgrade from db4; see 'Package Removals' and 'Other Concerns' for more information)
• l/desktop-file-utils
• l/freetype (split from x11) - see note in "Other Concerns" below
• l/gd
• l/gnome-icon-theme
• l/hicolor-icon-theme
• l/libgpod
• l/libmtp
• l/libmusicbrainz
• l/libnjb
• l/libtheora
• l/libtunepimp
• l/libvisual (library only, no plugins yet - but this should allow for compiling audio visualization plugins for amarok without a recompile of amarok itself)
• l/mm (split from apache)
• l/mpfr (split from gmp)
• l/neon (split from subversion)
• l/slang1 (renamed from slang)
• l/slang (Added slang 2)
• n/mailx (renamed from nail)
• n/rdesktop
• x/dejavu-ttf
• x/fontconfig (split from x11) - see note in "Other Concerns" below
• x/ttf-indic-fonts - see note in "Other Concerns" below
• xap/seamonkey
• xap/vim-gvim (renamed from xvim) - this package now depends on ap/vim
• kernels/huge26.s/* - added a 2.6.17.13 kernel to the official (supported) package set. The user will be given a choice of whether to install the 2.4.33.3 or 2.6.17.13 kernel. If a 2.6 kernel is used, additional packages must be added after the installation -- at the very least the kernel-modules package. Possibly also the kernel-headers to provide /usr/include/sound used to compile ALSA applications.
• extra/linux-smp-2.6.17.13/* - added a 2.6.17.13 kernel, modules, and headers with SMP and hyperthreading support, optimized for i686 or better cores (including dual core CPUs).

Package Removals Since 10.2

• ap/sgml-tools (replaced with linuxdoc-tools)
• d/python-demo (merged with python package)
• d/python-tools (merged with python package)
• l/db3 (moved to /pasture)
• l/db31 (moved to /pasture)
• l/db4-* (moved to /pasture)
• n/nail (renamed to mailx - see "Package Additions")
• xap/abiword (became a pure Gnome app)
• xap/mozilla (replaced with seamonkey)
• xap/xvim (renamed to vim-gvim) - see note above in "Package Additions"

Other Concerns

First of all, if you did not *upgrade* (in other words, you have a fresh installation), most of this is not relevant to you; you won't need to merge any config files or anything along those lines. However, this is still worth reading, as it gives you an idea of things to look for in future upgrades.

• Both the 2.4.x and 2.6.x kernels included are now compiled with high memory support
• Many old bison and db packages were pasture-ized from d/ and extra/ and so on; after upgrading/installing Slackware 11.0, you should have *one* bison package and *two* db packages (the db packages are listed in the package additions above)
• n/php now depends on l/freetype (l/freetype was split from x/x11)
• n/apache now depends on l/mm (l/mm was split from apache)
• xap/xine-lib now depends on l/libtheora if you want to play ogg-files in xine (and Amarok using the xine engine)
• a/devs was upgraded during the -current development cycle. You CANNOT upgrade this package while udev is running - you'll need to chmod -x /etc/rc.d/rc.udev, reboot, upgrade the devs package, and then reboot again. Actually, you don't *have* to reboot again, but if you know that, then you likely know how to go about it that way :)

If you don't know the trick, here's how to do it (no secrets here):

 sh /etc/rc.d/rc.udev stop
 umount /dev/pts
 umount /dev/shm
 umount -l /dev
 installpkg devs*.tgz
 sh /etc/rc.d/rc.udev start
 mount -av

Thanks to Richard Hoyle for this information on doing it without a reboot.

• So long as we're on the subject of a/devs, be aware that this package is still *required* in order to boot, even if you're using a 2.6 kernel and udev, so don't remove it.
• a/lilo and a/kernel-* were upgraded during the -current development cycle, so be sure to run /sbin/lilo prior to rebooting.
• glibc was upgraded during the -current development cycle, so be sure to follow the instructions in UPGRADE.TXT when upgrading (do the upgrade in runlevel 1).
• There was a major upgrade to a/udev and a/sysvinit - make *sure* you merge the *.new scripts in /etc/rc.d prior to rebooting or you *will* have problems.
• If you're having trouble with udev, make sure you've syncronized all of the .new config files and init scripts first. According to Pat Volkerding (the Slackware maintainer), most of these issues can "be fixed with a little bit of fine tuning, such as blacklisting unwanted modules in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and loading the desired replacements in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules," but simply blacklisting them will often result in udev loading the correct modules. Also, keep in mind that newer versions of udev (084+) require at least a 2.6.15.x kernel. Experiment with it before resorting to this, but if you simply must have one of them, there are alternate versions of udev in /extra.
• If you're running a 2.6 kernel and new udev (084+) on a router, you'll probably need to uncomment (and possibly edit to suit) the rules in /etc/udev/rules.d/network-devices.rules to make your interfaces always get the same names assigned. Hotplugging events are generated (and processed) in random order by udev, so there's no guarantee that your current eth0 will *always* be eth0 unless you uncomment (and possibly edit) those rules.
• If you need custom udev rules, DO NOT edit the default udev.rules file - any changes you make will be clobbered with the next udev upgrade. The correct way is to add a custom file to the /etc/udev/rules.d/ directory - most people use '10-local.rules' - and add your custom rules there. If there is some reason that one of the default rules needs changed, mail PiterPunk and/or Pat with an explanation.
• The psmouse module is blacklisted by default in the /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist file due to problems with the default kernel options used when it loads; this allows you to load it (from rc.modules, for example) with option "proto=imps" if you need it, or you are certainly free to comment it out in the blacklist file if it works fine for you with the kernel defaults.
• As indicated in the Package Additions section, freetype and fontconfig were split out of the main X11 packages. You need to upgrade the main x11 package first, then install fontconfig and freetype, then upgrade the remainder of the x11 packs; otherwise, they give an error during postinstall about not being able to load fontconfig libs.
• xap/seamonkey was chosen to provide the Mozilla development environment (primarily because the official binaries are used for the Firefox package, and these do not contain the development headers). At this time, only GAIM links with SeaMonkey's libraries, but if you are planning to compile something needing "Mozilla" libraries and headers, be sure SeaMonkey is installed.
• There have been quite a few reports that fonts are 'ugly' after upgrading; one way to fix it is to remove /etc/fonts/local.conf if it exists. If it doesn't exist, or that doesn't work, go into KControl's font settings, uncheck the box for antialiasing, and apply the changes. Then, recheck the box and apply the changes. This should create a $HOME/.fonts.conf file. Thanks to Pat for the initial suggestion with KControl, and thanks to ananke for working out exactly what changes are necessary to fix it.
• Slackware's vim package now includes a $VIM/vimrc file (in this case, /usr/share/vim/vimrc) for vim's default configuration. This default should provide a suitable start for most and your ~/.vimrc will override it if not, but if you had previously not explicitly set, e.g., 'backup', because vim's compiled-in default resulted in no backups and that suited you, the $VIM/vimrc includes 'set backup' and you will suddenly be keeping backups. These settings can be overridden individually (in this case with 'set nobackup') but one of several ways to avoid having $VIM/vimrc affecting your configuration at all is to put this at the top of your ~/.vimrc, overriding everything in $VIM/vimrc:

set all& " reset all options to compiled in defaults (thanks to deryni in #vim)
unmap Q " remove mapping to gq
syntax off " turn syntax off
filetype plugin indent off " turn filetype detection off
augroup! vimrcEx " delete the autocommand group that wraps text, etc.

• If you have an ati radeon card and are experiencing problems with it locking up, there is a patched set of ati modules at /extra/x11-radeon-patched/ - if you are not experiencing problems, then don't install this, as it does tend to cause problems if you weren't already having them...
• The ttf-indic-fonts package supports Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. For information about fully enabling Indic support (including input), see: /usr/doc/Linux-HOWTOs/Indic-Fonts-HOWTO.
• As part of the upgrade to nfs-utils and portmap, the /etc/rc.d/rc.portmap script has been replaced by /etc/rc.d/rc.rpc. The rc.rpc script does not have to be executable unless you plan on mounting nfs shares manually, as it will be run by other init scripts if any nfs shares or mounts are detected.
• php5 and lvm2 are available in /extra if you would like to use them
• cairo-1.2.4, flex-2.5.33, fontconfig-2.4.1, gutenprint-5.0.0, hplip-1.6.9, iptables-1.3.6, and wpa_supplicant-0.4.9 are available in /testing if you need/want them

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