In the release notes it states " Fedora Core includes the following kernel builds:
*
Native kernel, in both uniprocessor and SMP varieties.
Configured sources are available in the kernel-devel-<version>.<arch>.rpm package.
*
Virtual kernel for use with the XEN emulator package.
Configured sources are available in the kernel-xen0-devel-<version>.<arch>.rpm package.
Sources for both kernel flavors may be installed at the same time. The files will be installed into the /usr/src/kernels/<version>[-xen0]-<arch>/ tree. Use the command:
# rpm -Uvh kernel-devel[-xen0]-<version>.<arch>.rpm"
and it also states:
"6.2.2.3. Preparing for Kernel Development
Fedora Core 4 does not include the kernel-source package provided by older versions. Instead, configured sources are available as described in Section 6.2.2.2, “Kernel Flavors”. Users that require access to Fedora Core original kernel sources can find them in the kernel .src.rpm package. To create an exploded source tree from this file, perform the following steps:
[Warning] These Instructions Refer The Currently-running Kernel!
To simplify the following directions, we have assumed that you want to configure the kernel sources to match your currently-running kernel. In the steps below, you must understand that the phrase <version> refers to the kernel version shown by the:
$ uname -r
command.
1.
Obtain the kernel-<version>.src.rpm file from one of the following sources:
*
The SRPMS directory on the appropriate SRPMS CD iso image.
*
The FTP site where you got the kernel package.
*
By running the following command:
# up2date --get-source kernel
2.
Install kernel-<version>.src.rpm using the command:
# rpm -Uvh kernel-<version>.src.rpm
This writes the RPM contents into /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES and /usr/src/redhat/SPECS.
3.
Prepare the kernel sources using the commands:
# cd /usr/src/redhat/SPECS
# rpmbuild -bp --target $(arch) kernel.spec
The kernel source tree will be located in the /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-<version> directory. It is common practice to move the resulting linux-<version> directory to the /usr/src tree; while not strictly necessary, we suggest that you do this to match the generally-available documentation.
# cd /usr/src/redhat/BUILD/kernel-<version> /usr/src/
# mv linux-<version> /usr/src/
# cd /usr/src
# ln -s ./linux-<version> linux
# cd /usr/src/linux
4.
The configurations for the specific kernels shipped in Fedora Core 4 are in the configs/ directory. For example, the i686 SMP configuration file is named configs/kernel-<version>-i686-smp.config. Issue the following command to place the desired configuration file in the proper place for building:
# cp configs/<desired-config-file> .config
5.
Issue the following command:
# make oldconfig
You can then proceed as usual.
6.2.2.4. Building Only Kernel Modules
An exploded source tree is not required to build a kernel module, such as your own device driver, against the currently in-use kernel.
For example, to build the foo.ko module, create the following Makefile in the directory containing the foo.c file:
obj-m := foo.o
KDIR := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD := $(shell pwd)
default:
$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
Issue the make command to build the foo.ko module.
6.2.2.5. Userspace Dependancies on the Kernel
Fedora Core adds support for clustered systems. This requires a special kernel that works in conjunction with some user-space utilities, such as management daemons. Consequently, to remove such a kernel, perhaps after an update, you cannot simply use the rpm -e kernel-<version> command as in earlier distributions because these userspace packages depend on the kernel package. You may either list both the kernel package and its userspace dependant packages on the rpm -e command, or you may wish to use the yum remove kernel-<version> command instead since yum automatically removes dependant packages if necesssary.
6.2.3. Security
This section highlights various security items from Fedora Core.
6.2.3.1. Digital Certificates Consolidated
Digital certificates are now centralised in directories under /etc/pki/. Users performing an upgrade must relocate their digital certificates.
OpenSSL: the /usr/share/ssl contents have moved to /etc/pki/tls and /etc/pki/CA.
Dovecot: A dovecot-openssl.cnf file is automatically installed in /etc/pki/dovecot/.
6.3. Development Tools
6.3.1. GCC Compiler Collection
Fedora Core 4 has been built using GCC 4.0, which is included with the distribution.
Caveats
*
GDB 6.1 or newer is needed to debug binaries unless compiled using the -fno-var-tracking compilation option.
*
The -fwritable-strings option is no longer accepted.
*
English-language diagnostic messages now use Unicode quotes; if you cannot read this, set your LC_CTYPE environment variable to "C" or change your terminal emulator.
*
The specs file is no longer installed on most systems. Ordinary users will not notice, but developers who need to alter the file can use the -dumpspecs option to generate the file for editing.
Code Generation
*
The SSA code optimizer is now included and brings with it better constant propagation; partial redundancy elimination; load and store code motion; strength reduction; dead storage elimination; better detection of unreachable code; and tail recursion by accumulation.
*
Autovectorization is supported. This technique achieves higher performance for repetitive loop code, in some circumstances.
Language Extentions
*
A sentinel attribute has been added so that the compiler will now issue a warning if a function such as execl(char *path, const char *arg, ...), which requires a NULL list terminator is missing the NULL.
*
The cast-as-lvalue, conditional-expression-as-lvalue, and compund-expression-as-lvalue extentions have been removed.
*
The #pragma pack() semantics have been brought closer to those used by other compilers.
*
Taking the address of a variable declared with the register modifier now generates an error instead of a warning.
*
Arrays of incomplete element types now generate an error. This implies no forward reference to structure definitions.
*
The basic compiler, without any optimization (-O0), has been measured as much as 25% faster in real-world code.
*
Libraries may now contain function-scope static variables in multi-threaded programs. The -fno-threadsafe-statics can be used by embedded developers to turn off this feature, but ordinary users should never do this.
Java
*
To avoid naming conflicts: rmic is now grmic; rmiregistry is now grmiregistry; and jar is now fastjar.
*
The GCJ compiler can now be used as a just-in-time (JIT) tool by using the gnu.jit facilities.
*
More support of the AWT and SWING packages have been added.
FORTRAN
*
The GNU FORTRAN 77 front end has been replaced by a new FORTRAN 90/95 recognizer.
Eclipse Development Environment
*
Eclipse 3.1M6 has been compiled as a native application.
*
The C Development Tool (CDT) has been included.
6.4. Language Support
This section includes information related to the support of various languages under Fedora Core.
6.4.1. The IIIMF Input System
IIIMF is the Internet/Intranet Input Method Framework. In Fedora Core 4 the iiimf package is updated to version 12.2.
File Path Changes
The names and locations of some files in the iiimf packages have changed.
The IIIMF server has been renamed from /usr/sbin/htt to /usr/bin/iiimd, and the XIM bridge client renamed from httx to iiimx. The init.d script name has not changed: it is still called iiim. All the global system configuration files are now located under /etc/iiim/.
Language Engine (LE) developers should note that LE modules and their data now live under ${libdir}/iiim/le/<LE_NAME>/, while runtime data is stored under /var/lib/iiim/le/<LE_NAME>/.
For more information on the exact path and file location changes, please refer to Fedora IIIMF FAQ:
http://www.fedora.redhat.com/project...iiimf-faq.html.
Hotkeys
Trigger keys, such as Ctrl-Space used to activate Input Methods, are now configurable with the command-line tool iiimf-le-tools. This feature is only supported by GTK2 applications currently. For other applications using XIM the trigger key can be changed using an X resource. Refer to the IIIMF FAQ at
http://www.fedora.redhat.com/project...iiimf-faq.html for more details on how to change trigger hotkeys.
Note that the keyname refers to the X key symbol name. For example, if you want to activate with Ctrl-@, you need to specify '<Control>at' as the keyname not '<Control>@'.
The per-user configuration of hotkeys does not work currently with SELinux in enforcing mode due to lack of SELinux policy. In this case, the hotkey can only be changed in the system-wide configuration.
Qt Support
A Qt immodule for iiimf is now included. This immodule works but lacks a status window and is considered experimental. Therefore, the default for Qt applications is to continue using XIM for IIMF input.
If you wish to try the immodule in a Qt application, first install the iiimf-qt package, start the application, then click mouse button-3 in an input area and select iiimqcf from the Select Input Method' submenu.
6.5. Multimedia
This section contains information related to multimedia applications.
6.6. Web Servers
This section contains information on Web-related applications.
6.6.1. mod_perl
The RC5 release of mod_perl 2.0 is now included. The API provided by this release is incompatible with previous 1.99_xx releases. Please refer to the following document for a discussion of how to adapt code to use the new API:
http://perl.apache.org/docs/2.0/rename.html
6.6.2. php
Version 5.0 of PHP is now included, which includes a number of changes to the language along with significant performance improvements. Please refer to the PHP documentation for more information on migrating from PHP 4.3 to PHP 5.0:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/migration5.php
The /usr/bin/php binary is now built using the CLI command-line SAPI, rather than the CGI SAPI. Use /usr/bin/php-cgi for CGI SAPI. The php-cgi also includes FastCGI support.
The following extensions have been added:
*
The mysqli extension, a new interface designed specifically for MySQL 4.1. This is included in the php-mysql package.
*
The soap extension, for implementing SOAP clients and servers.
The following extensions are now available as optional loadable extensions, rather than being built in to the PHP binaries:
*
The dba extension, now available in the php-dba package
*
The bcmath extension, now available in the php-bcmath package
6.7. Samba (Windows Compatibility)
This section contains information related to Samba, the suite of software that enables Linux to interact with Microsoft Windows systems.
Browsing of Windows shares (also known as SMB browsing) fails on Fedora Core 4 systems that have the standard firewall configured. This is most easily noticed in the failure of the desktop to display shares.
The firewall disrupts the broadcast mode of SMB browsing, which is the default. There are two workarounds:
*
Configure a WINS server on the network, and set the "wins server" option in smb.conf to the address of the WINS server.
*
Disable the firewall.
[Warning] Disabling the firewall may make your system vulnerable
Make sure you fully understand the risks before undertaking this step.
For additional information, refer to the following bug report:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla....cgi?id=133478
6.8. X Window System (Graphics)
This section contains information related to the X Window System implementation provided with Fedora Core.
6.8.1. xorg-x11
Users new to the X.org X11 implementation should take note of a few differences between it and the XFree86.org X11 implementation which shipped in previous Red Hat operating systems. In particular, the names of some files have changed:
X Server Binary:
*
XFree86 X11: XFree86
*
X.org X11: Xorg
X Server Configuration File:
*
XFree86 X11: /etc/X11/XF86Config
*
X.org X11: /etc/X11/xorg.conf
X Server Log File:
*
XFree86 X11: /var/log/XFree86.$DISPLAY.log
*
X.org X11: /var/log/Xorg.$DISPLAY.log
When configuring or troubleshooting your X server configuration, be sure that you are using the correct files.
There has been some confusion regarding font-related issues under the X Window System in recent versions of Fedora Core (and versions of Red Hat Linux before it.) At the present time, there are two font subsystems, each with different characteristics:
*
The original (15+ year old) subsystem is referred to as the "core X font subsystem". Fonts rendered by this subsystem are not anti-aliased, are handled by the X server, and have names like: -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--10-100-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1
*
The newer font subsystem is known as "fontconfig", and allows applications direct access to the font files. Fontconfig is often used along with the Xft library, which allows applications to render fontconfig fonts to the screen with antialiasing. Fontconfig uses more human-friendly names such as: Luxi Sans-10
Over time, fontconfig and Xft will replace the core X font subsystem. At the present time, applications using the Qt 3 or GTK 2 toolkits (which would include KDE and GNOME applications) use the fontconfig and Xft font subsystem; most everything else uses the core X fonts.
In the future, Fedora Core may support only fontconfig/Xft in place of the XFS font server as the default local font access method.
[Note] Note
An exception to the font subsystem usage outlined above is OpenOffice.org (which uses its own font rendering technology).
If you wish to add new fonts to your Fedora Core 4 system, you must be aware that the steps necessary depend on which font subsystem is to use the new fonts. For the core X font subsystem, you must:
1.
Create the /usr/share/fonts/local/ directory (if it doesn't already exist):
mkdir /usr/share/fonts/local/
2.
Copy the new font file into /usr/share/fonts/local/
3.
Update the font information by issuing the following commands (note that, due to formatting restrictions, the following commands may appear on more than one line; in use, each command should be entered on a single line):
ttmkfdir -d /usr/share/fonts/local/ -o /usr/share/fonts/local/fonts.scale
mkfontdir /usr/share/fonts/local/
4.
If you had to create /usr/share/fonts/local/, you must then add it to the X font server (xfs) path:
chkfontpath --add /usr/share/fonts/local/
Adding new fonts to the fontconfig font subsystem is more straightforward; the new font file only needs to be copied into the /usr/share/fonts/ directory (individual users can modify their personal font configuration by copying the font file into the ~/.fonts/ directory).
After the new font has been copied, use fc-cache to update the font information cache:
fc-cache <directory>
(Where <directory> would be either the /usr/share/fonts/ or ~/.fonts/ directories.)
Individual users may also install fonts graphically, by browsing fonts:/// in Nautilus, and dragging the new font files there.
[Note] Note
If the font filename ends with ".gz", it has been compressed with gzip, and must be decompressed (with the gunzip command) before the fontconfig font subsystem can use the font.
Due to the transition to the new font system based on fontconfig/Xft, GTK+ 1.2 applications are not affected by any changes made via the Font Preferences dialog. For these applications, a font can be configured by adding the following lines to the file ~/.gtkrc.mine:
style "user-font" {
fontset = "<font-specification>"
}
widget_class "*" style "user-font"
(Where <font-specification> represents a font specification in the style used by traditional X applications, such as "-adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--*-120-*-*-*-*-*-*".)
7. Packages Movement
7.1. Packages Moved to Fedora Extras
These are some of the packages that have moved from Core to Fedora Extras. These are active packages that are maintained and supported by the Fedora Project. If you are looking for information about Extras, refer to this URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras
[Note] List is Incomplete
This list highlights some of the major packages that moved from Core to Extras between Fedora Core 3 and Fedora Core 4. This is not a complete list.
*
abiword
*
aiksaurus
*
balsa
*
bzflag
*
cyrus-imapd
*
dbh
*
dietlibc
*
exim
*
freeciv
*
gnuchess
*
gnumeric
*
grip
*
jed
*
lapack
*
libgda
*
libgnomedb
*
libtabe
*
libxfce4mcs
*
libxfce4util
*
libxfcegui
*
Maelstrom
*
ncftp
*
ots
*
recode
*
SDL_image
*
SDL_mixer
*
SDL_net
*
sylpheed
*
system-switch-im
*
xboard
*
xcin
*
xemacs
*
xemacs-sumo
*
xfce4-iconbox
*
xfce4-panel
*
xfce4-systray
*
xfce-mcs-manager
*
xfce-mcs-plugins
*
xfce-utils
*
xfdesktop
*
xffm
*
xffm-icons
*
xfprint
*
xfwm4
*
xmms
8. An Overview of the Fedora Project
The goal of the Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general-purpose operating system exclusively from open source software. Development is done in a public forum. The project produces time-based releases of Fedora Core approximately 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule. The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in building Fedora Core and will invite and encourage more outside participation than was possible in the past. By using this more open process, we hope to provide an operating system more in line with the ideals of free software and more appealing to the open source community.
For more information, refer to the Fedora Project website:
http://fedora.redhat.com/
In addition to the website, the following mailing lists are available:
*
fedora-list@redhat.com — For users of Fedora Core releases
*
fedora-test-list@redhat.com — For testers of Fedora Core test releases
*
fedora-devel-list@redhat.com — For developers, developers, developers
*
fedora-docs-list@redhat.com — For participants of the docs project
To subscribe to any of these lists, send an email with the word "subscribe" in the subject to <listname>-request (where <listname> is one of the above list names.)
Alternately, you can subscribe through the Web interface:
http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/
If you have subscribed in the past to rhl-list, rhl-beta-list, rhl-devel-list, or rhl-docs-list, your subscriptions have been retained.
The Fedora Project also includes an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel. IRC is a real-time, text-based form of communication. With it, you can have conversations with multiple people in an open channel or chat with someone privately one-on-one.
To talk with other Fedora Project participants via IRC, access freenode IRC network. Initially, you can use irc.freenode.net as the IRC server, although you may decide to select a server that is geographically closer to you. Refer to the freenode website (
http://www.freenode.net/) for more information. Fedora Project participants frequent the #fedora channel, while Fedora Project developers can often be found on the #fedora-devel channel. Some of the larger projects may have their own channels as well; this information can be found on the project pages.
In order to talk on the #fedora channel, you will need to register your nickname (nick). Instructions are given when you /join the channel. "
It looks like you shouuld be able to do that.
There are multiple emulators available; VMWare has a free version, QEMU, Captive,Xen and the list goes on. there is also the option of Mounting the Windows hd or creating a Vfat partition and using SAMBA to communicate between the two.
So yes it is possible... just deciding how to do it that's the PIA
