Arch Linux Newsletter

May 29, 2005
1.0.0
Jason Chu jason@archlinux.org
Ben Mazer blm@groknil.org

Summary

Welcome to the Arch Linux Newsletter. This document attempts to give you an "at a glance" look at the world of Arch Linux.

Table Of Contents

  1. Front Page News
  2. Devland Update
  3. ArchStats
  4. Seti Update
  5. Forum Highlights
  6. Mailing List Highlights
  7. Tur Update
  8. Package Highlights
  9. New Packages
  10. FAQ
  11. Bugs
    1. Closed Bugs
    2. Opened Bugs
  12. Closing

Front Page News

  1. KDE 3.4.1 in [extra]
    Hi KDE users
    kde 3.4.1 is ready in extra. Enjoy the bugfixes and new features.
    Tell me your opinion about KDE 3.4.1
  2. Arch at LinuxTag 2005
    Hello fellow archlinux brothers. Some of the users decided to present Archlinux at the LinuxTag expo taking place from 22-June to 25-June [www.linuxtag.org].

    The Linuxtag is the largest linux conference in Europe since '96. It's a place where users meet and present their different projects. The motto is "Where .COM meets .ORG".

    At the moment we're a team of 3 people willing to present it to the crowd. The team is in desperate need of users that want to help out.

    If you join the team you get to sleep for free and the possibility for a cheap breakfast. So if you can get there and are eager to help out you can contact us via irc #archlinux (klapmuetz, kth5 and yofuh) or via mail at archlt@bosng.de. Non-german speaking people are very welcome too.

    If you just want to visit the LT05 you are welcomed to check out our booth. We could chitchat and talk about archlinux in general.

    (Posted on behalf of Benjamin Andresen)

Devland Update

  1. The next bug squashing day is June 5th.
  2. kpiche has joined the development team. He's picked up a lot of my slack.
  3. We're working on standardizing our developer acceptance process. We're hoping we'll be better able to manage Arch Linux with a more structured system.

Archstats Update

To Participate, visit: http://archstats.coding-zone.com/

Number of registered systems: 1088
Date first system was registered: 20031017
Most recent update occurred: 20050522
Longest recorded uptime: 480 days, 9 hours, 22 minutes, 39 seconds.
Average uptime: 7 days, 2 hours, 59 minutes, 1 seconds.
Least packages installed on a system: 44
Average installed packages: 314
Most packages installed on a system: 1242
Slowest recorded CPU (MHz): 198.65
Average CPU speed (MHz): 1639.79
Fastest recorded CPU (MHz): 3749.52

Seti@Home Update

To Participate, visit:http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/stats/team/team_185479.html

Members: 34
Results Received: 15652
Total CPU time: 17.961 years

Forum Highlights

  1. Cactus has posted a Subversion HOWTO on the Wiki. Remember to check the Wiki first when having problems. It contains lots of useful documentation and tips.
  2. Penguin has created a Pacman Defrag script. It seems to work fine.
  3. Phrakture has provided a basic PKGBUILD-grabbing script for the AUR.
  4. Hiower4 wanted to know the status of Automatic DM/WM Menus. Various people have worked on this, but nothing has actually been finished. The idea is that WM menus should automatically be updated when a package is installed, so they are automatic and "intelligent." If someone would like to create this, it is not the most difficult project out there. Debian has a system already in place that can be used for inspiration (or code).

Mailing List Highlights

  1. Judd announced support for Network Profiles in the init scripts.
  2. Simo launched a discussion about cvsup access for UNSUPPORTED in the AUR. Since PKGBUILDs in UNSUPPORTED are unchecked, this allows users to run malicious packages easily. On the other hand, it makes the PKGBUILDs easier to organize/search.
  3. Cactus requested easily viewable changelogs for packages. This has been requested various times throughout the last year. Although basic changelogs are available from CVS, people want a more robust and easily accessible system. Some developers have spoken out in favor of this. Judd has not responded.
  4. Archlinuxfr has released a multilingual Arch install CD.

TUR Update

  1. Simo (Neotuli) has now been officially accepted as a TU, and will also be coding on the AUR proper.
  2. A few bugs have been fixed with the AUR preventing packages from being uploaded. Expect more packages to be accepted into COMMUNITY.
  3. Discussion about the specifics of voting is taking place. Expect votes to have "expiration dates" in the near future.
  4. Packages that do not follow Arch or AUR guidelines will be removed from the AUR without notice. Sometimes a message may be posted to the mailing list, so if you submit packages to the AUR, be sure to subscribe. If there are any questions about package building, please mail the list before uploading.

Package Highlights

  1. Package updates since last newsletter: 503.
  2. gtk-sharp-2 is available via pacman now. Expect packages like Muine to be updated shortly.
  3. XFCE 4.2.2 was released. This fixes many annoying bugs. See the changelog for all the information.

New Packages

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between the AUR, COMMUNITY, and TUR? Why don't packages I upload to the AUR show up in pacman?

A: The TUR, or Trusted User Repository, was the old system used to manage user submissions. It had a number of flaws, so was discontinued. The TUR website is still up, but is dead and will be removed shortly. AUR is the official replacement for the TUR. It is a web system that allows users to submit their own PKGBUILDs for both the TUs and the general community to see. COMMUNITY is a new Arch repository, run by the TUs, that is available via pacman.

User submitted PKGBUILDs are available from the AUR, but because they have not been reviewed, packages are not available. If a PKGBUILD is reviewed, and receives many votes, it may "graduate" into the COMMUNITY repo. There it will easily be retrievable from pacman.

If you are a new user, it is safe to use the COMMUNITY repo, as packages have been verified. Any PKGBUILDs in the UNSUPPORTED section of the AUR have not been tested, and could be dangerous or broken. Use at your own risk.

Bugs

Bugs Closed

Bugs closed since last newsletter: 161.

Bugs Opened

Bugs opened since last newsletter: 150.

Closing

We're sorry about the newsletter delays, but we have been very busy. Last week we had a newsletter done, but technical issues prevented upload. Thank you to those who were worried. It makes us feel appreciated. We should be returning to the standard bi-weekly format next month.

If you are interested in helping out with the newsletter, email either Jason or myself. Specifically, if someone could submit Forum Highlights, it would be appreciated, as both Jason and I tend to avoid the forum in general.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned for more exciting Arch Linux news.