As far as conforming to the Lockergnome newsletter standards of 80 characters or so per line, this is (again) not something I do, it's the editor who puts my content into the templates. However, the editor has been notified and will be adjusting how my content is entered since we don't want people to have to fuss with scrolling left and right to read the newsletter, now do we? (I know, that's very frustrating.)

Lockergnome Linux E-Books

Much of the content of these newsletters is actually going to be updated, expanded, and repurposed into ebooks available here through Lockergnome. My questions to you folks are:

• What (that I've covered so far) are you dying to get an e-book about?
• What didn't I cover here that you'd like to see added for the e-book? I'm also always interested in knowing what you want to see covered here.

I'm pleased to announce that a business venture I'm involved in launched this last week. If you are at Gnomedex, you may hear about it! I won't bore folks with the details here. Instead, you can check out AnswerSquad yourself.

Back to the Fun Stuff

If you haven't heard yet, Red Hat Linux has taken on a whole new direction that I personally think is really going to take the distribution a level or two better than it is now. You can read my writeup about this at Linux Planet, and you can read Red Hat's in the GnomePENGUINs section. (Okay, so I'm giving the PENGUINS more than homework. I thought that just homework was kind of mean.) ;)

Digitally Yours,              
Dee-Ann LeBlanc       

GnomeEGGS

Learning about Commands, Part I

There are a number of ways to learn about the commands available in Linux. First, I'll show you how to find out more through your own system, and then we'll get to external online and print resources. Let's start with the main commands for getting help: man, info, apropos, and whatis. You can find information about most Linux commands by typing:

man command

Such as:

man ls

man pages aren't necessarily the most newbie-friendly material in the world, but if you're just trying to look up what flag does what then this is a good place to go. Practice also makes perfect. The more man pages you read, and the more you use Linux, the more it all starts to make sense. You can learn more about the man command itself by typing:

man man

You can move up and down through a man page using the arrow keys and Page Up and Page Down, and use the spacebar to move down as well. When you're finished reading the page, press Q to close it.

Next is info. At the bottom of a man page, you'll often see something similar to:

      The  full  documentation for ls is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If
      the info and ls programs are properly installed at your site, the  com-
      mand
 
              info ls
 
      should give you access to the complete manual.

To just read what's on the page, you can use Page Up, Page Down, or the arrow keys. If you want to select a "link" to follow in this document, use the Tab key to move through the menu options until you find the one you want, and then press Enter. You can also move from topic to topic by pressing N to go to the next topic, and P to go to the previous topic. Pressing U brings you back to the main page.

You can learn more about the info command itself by typing man info, and you can learn more about how to use info once you're in it by typing:

info info

Next week: More helpful tips for learning about commands

Submit a Resource | Discuss | Recommend It!

GnomeCHICKS

Compiling Software from Source, Part V

Last week, I finally got that fussy GTK+ package compiled. My whole purpose for working on GTK+ was that I was trying to compile the entire GNOME 2.2.1 beta from source, and was starting with the gnome-desktop package since it is likely the core program I'll need. When I tried to compile it, I received the following:

configure: error: Library requirements (gdk-pixbuf-2.0 >= 2.0.3 gtk+-2.0 >= 2.1.2 libgnomeui-2.0 >= 2.1.0 gnome-vfs-2.0 >= 2.0.0 ) not met

So, now the GTK+ issue is resolved. There is no package with "gdk" in it, so that is no doubt part of another one of the packages included in my massive GNOME 2.2.1 source directory. I look in this directory for items related to libgnomeui and find:

# ls libgnome*
libgnome-2.2.0.1.tar.bz2        libgnomeprintui-2.2.1.2.tar.bz2
libgnomecanvas-2.2.0.2.tar.bz2  libgnomeui-2.2.0.1.tar.bz2
libgnomeprint-2.2.1.2.tar.bz2

bunzip2 libgnome-2.2.0.1.tar.bz2

Then I unpackage it with:

tar xvf libgnome-2.2.0.1.tar

This action creates the directory libgnome-2.2.0.1, which I move into. A quick glance in the INSTALL file tells me this is a ./configure, make, make install process, and I don't get past the ./configure stage:

configure: error: Library requirements (glib-2.0 >= 2.0.3 gmodule-2.0 >= 2.0.3 gnome-vfs-2.0 >= 1.9.16 libxml-2.0 >= 2.4.22 libbonobo-2.0 >= 2.0.0 gconf-2.0 >=
1.1.11 audiofile >= 0.2.3 esound >= 0.2.26) not met; consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if your libraries are in a nonstandard prefix so pkg-config can find them.

Here we go again. The gnome-vfs entry is listed in both gnome-desktop's errors and libgnome's errors, so I'll start there. After uncompressing, unpackaging, and changing to the gnome-vfs-2.2.3 directory, the INSTALL file once again tells me this is a simple three steps. Even the error is relatively simple:

configure: error: Library requirements (libbonobo-2.0 >= 2.0.0) not met; consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if your libraries are in a nonstandard prefix so pkg- config can find them.

I follow the usual drill, run ./configure, and yay, no errors. make and make install finish the job so I can go back to gnome-vfs. The gnome-vfs ./configure, however, just repeats the previous error. It's possible that an environment variable didn't get properly updated, so I exit my su session and head back in, then run the configuration tool again. Same problem. Guess I'll have to try some tweaking.

Next week: The saga continues ...

Submit a Resource | Discuss | Recommend It!

GnomePENGUINS

I've got an article about the following on LinuxPlanet, if you don't feel like poring through the whole thing here.

Bill Nottingham released the following to the Red Hat community on Monday, July 21:

Announcing a beta release of Red Hat Linux: Severn

Thank you gentlemen. This is rumor control. Here are the facts. As some of you know, new Red Hat Linux Beta bits crash landed here at 1000 on the morning watch. There was one survivor. Two dead processes, and a daemon that was hopelessly smashed beyond repair. The survivor is called SEVERN.

It's that time agan.(Time to floss?)(Time to make a gooky?)

No, it's time for a Red Hat Linux Beta, named SEVERN.

"I just want to say that I took a vow of stability. That also includes betas. We all took the vow. Now let me say, that I for one, do not appreciate Company policy allowing beta bits to freely intermingle..."

"Cheeky bastard, right sir?"

"What brother means to say is ... We view the presence of any outside OS, beta, as a violation of the stability, a potential break in the spiritual unity."

We are well aware of your feelings in this matter. You will be pleased to know that I have requested a testing team - Hopefully, they will be here inside of a few hours and evaluate it A.S.A.P.

As always, betas such as SEVERN are not intended for use on production environments. Use as such could lead to your machines being slaughtered like pigs by the dragon. Or just public laughter.

Problems with SEVERN should be reported via bugzilla, at:

http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/

What's its development status?

"It doesn't seem too horrendously in flux. Difficult at this moment to make a specific diagnosis."

Among other things, SEVERN has:

• a new graphical boot
• GCC 3.3
• an updated 2.4.21 kernel
• updated Evolution and Mozilla
• and more!

Will it live?

"Yes, I should think so."

Look, none of us here is naive. It's in everybody's best interests if this beta doesn't come out into production until the testing team is through with it. And certainly not without the proper qualification and bug reports. Right? So we should all stick to our set routines and not get unduly agitated. Correct? All right. Thank you gentlemen.

Speaking of unduly agitated... there's lots of rumors going on about Red Hat Linux. We've been doing it for nearly ten years now, and in that time, there's been various changes. From rpp to RPM, from Red Hat Commercial Linux to Official Red Hat Linux, from 'install' to anaconda. And now, we're making another change.

We changed the rules. We said our Linux should be your Linux. Just as most of the software in Red Hat Linux is developed in an open fashion, so should Red Hat Linux itself; driven by those who develop, test, document, and translate. To accomplish this, we're opening up our process.

Now this is an evolution, not a revolution. The first steps will be moving much of our development discussions and schedules external, via mailing lists and other means, and including external developers in the process of making technical decisions. More will be done from there. Red Hat Linux will remain as it has been; a freely available general purpose operating system, released on the average every six months. For more information, see:

http://rhl.redhat.com/

For discussion of SEVERN, send mail to: rhl-beta-list-request@redhat.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. You can leave the body empty. Or, see:

https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/rhl-beta-list/

As always, you can get SEVERN at redhat.com, specifically:

ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/beta/severn/

Or the following mirrors:

North America:

United States:
ftp://moni.msci.memphis.edu/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://moni.msci.memphis.edu/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://linux.stanford.edu/pub/mirrors/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.cse.buffalo.edu/pub/RedHat/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://mirror.eas.muohio.edu/mirrors/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://mirrors.secsup.org/pub/linux/redhat/beta/severn/
ftp://redhat.dulug.duke.edu/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://mirror.hiwaay.net/redhat/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://mirror.hiwaay.net/redhat/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://www.gtlib.cc.gatech.edu/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.gtlib.cc.gatech.edu/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://rsync.gtlib.cc.gatech.edu/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Canada:
ftp://less.cogeco.net/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.nrc.ca/pub/systems/linux/redhat/ftp.redhat.com/linux/beta/severn/

South America:

Brazil:
http://bastion.las.ic.unicamp.br/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn
ftp://bastion.las.ic.unicamp.br/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn

Chile:
ftp://ftp.tecnoera.com/Linux/redhat-beta/severn/

Europe:

Austria:
ftp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/opsys/linux/redhat.com/dist/linux/beta/severn/
http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/opsys/linux/redhat.com/dist/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://gd.tuwien.ac.at/opsys/linux/redhat.com/dist/linux/beta/severn/

Czech Republic:
ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.redhat.com/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ultra.linux.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.redhat.com/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.linux.cz/pub/linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp6.linux.cz/pub/linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Denmark:
ftp://klid.dk/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Germany:
ftp://ftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/redhat-ftp/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://wftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/redhat-ftp/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/pub/linux/Mirror/ftp.redhat.com/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/Linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Ireland:
ftp://ftp.esat.net/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://ftp.esat.net/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://ftp.esat.net/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Netherlands:
ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/RedHat/ftp/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.surfnet.nl/pub/os/Linux/distr/RedHat/ftp/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://alviss.et.tudelft.nl/pub/redhat/beta/severn/

Poland:
ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/ftp/pub/Linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/Linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Romania:
ftp://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/pub/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/mirrors/ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

Turkey:
ftp://ftp.linux.org.tr/pub/redhat/beta/severn/

United Kingdom:
http://zeniiia.linux.org.uk/pub/distributions/redhat/beta/severn/
ftp://zeniiia.linux.org.uk/pub/distributions/redhat/beta/severn/
rsync://zeniiia.linux.org.uk/ftp/pub/distributions/redhat/beta/severn/

Asia/Pacific:

Australia:
http://planetmirror.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
ftp://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
http://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/redhat/linux/severn/
ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/redhat/linux/severn/

Japan:
ftp://ftp.sfc.wide.ad.jp/pub/Linux/RedHat/linux/beta/severn/

Singapore:
ftp://ftp.oss.eznetsols.org/linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/
rsync://rsync.oss.eznetsols.org/linux/redhat/linux/beta/severn/

One additional feature provided by the Linux community is the availability of SEVERN via BitTorrent.

http://torrent.dulug.duke.edu/severn-binary-iso.torrent
http://torrent.dulug.duke.edu/severn-source-iso.torrent

RPMS for Red Hat Linux 7.3 through 9 of BitTorrent are available from:

http://torrent.dulug.duke.edu/btrpms/

Usage is simple:

btdownloadcurses.py --url http://URL.torrent

Allow incoming TCP 6881 - 6889 to join the torrent swarm.

http://torrent.dulug.duke.edu/

"You didn't really miss much. This looked like an interesting question to play (learn) with. locate is one of my favorite tools, as long as you are searching for something before the last scheduled database update. Mine is weekly, so anything added between updates wouldn't show. Normally, I just run 'locate' naked, but for this I would use locate in regex (-r) mode to find filenames consisting of 'name', 'allow underbar(s) or hyphen(s)', 'major version number', '.', 'minor-version number'. This would lessen the results to useful names which are piped to 'less' for viewing.

"The condensed corrected-corrected version should be:

locate -r foo_*-*[0-9]+\.[0-9]+ | less

"But, locate and grep do not seem to follow the fine manual, which says '+' matches one or more incidences of the preceding item. I want at least one or more digits in each position. Sooo, I need two-digit matches, one definite and one optional. I think this is really overkill, but I had fun with it:

"To find what version of 'foo' is running, may I suggest:

locate -r foo_*-*[0-9][0-9]*\.[0-9][0-9]* | less

This should give a pretty comprehensive answer for most programs; scroll through until satisfied then quit."