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![]() Fedora 12 (Constantine) |
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| Company / developer | Fedora Project, (sponsored by Red Hat, Inc.) |
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Free and open source software |
| Initial release | 2003-11-16[1] |
| Latest stable release | 12 / November 17, 2009 |
| Available language(s) | Multilingual |
| Update method | Yum (PackageKit) |
| Package manager | RPM Package Manager |
| Supported platforms | IA-32, x86-64, PowerPC |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Userland | GNU |
| Default user interface | GNOME |
| License | GNU GPL & Various others. |
| Official Website | www.fedoraproject.org |
Fedora (pronounced /fəˈdɔrə/) is an RPM-based, general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat. The Fedora Project's mission is to lead the advancement of free and open source software and content as a collaborative community.[2]
One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain software distributed under a free and open source license, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies.[3][4] Fedora developers prefer to make upstream changes instead of applying fixes specifically for Fedora—this ensures that their updates are available to all GNU/Linux distributions.[5]
Fedora has a comparatively short life cycle: version X is maintained until one month after version X+2 is released. With 6 months between releases, the maintenance period is about 13 months for each version.[6]
Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, says he uses Fedora because it had fairly good support for PowerPC when he used that processor architecture. He became accustomed to the operating system and continues to use it (as of 2008).[7]
According to Distrowatch, Fedora is the second most popular GNU/Linux-based operating system as of early 2010, behind Ubuntu.[8]
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The Fedora Project was created in late 2003, when Red Hat Linux was discontinued.[9] Red Hat Enterprise Linux was to be Red Hat's only officially supported GNU/Linux distribution, while Fedora was to be a community distribution.[9] Red Hat Enterprise Linux branches its releases from versions of Fedora.[10]
The name of Fedora derives from Fedora Linux, a volunteer project that provided extra software for the Red Hat Linux distribution, and from the characteristic fedora used in Red Hat's "Shadowman" logo. Fedora Linux was begun in 2002 by Warren Togami as an undergraduate project, intended to provide a single repository for well-tested third-party software packages so that non-Red Hat software would be easier to find, develop, and use. The key difference between the approaches of Fedora Linux and Red Hat Linux was that Fedora's repository development would be collaborative with the global volunteer community.[11] Fedora Linux was eventually absorbed into the Fedora Project, carrying with it this collaborative approach.[12] Fedora is a trademark of Red Hat. Although this had previously been disputed by the creators of the unrelated Fedora repository management software, the issue has now been resolved.[13]
The Fedora Project is governed by a board whose majority is elected by the Fedora community.[14]
The Fedora Project distributes Fedora in several different ways:[15]
The Fedora Project also distributes custom variations of Fedora which are called Fedora spins.[17] These are built from a specific set of software packages and have a combination of software to meet the requirements of a specific kind of end user. Fedora spins are developed by several Fedora special interest groups.[18] It is also possible to create Live USB versions of Fedora using Fedora Live USB creator or UNetbootin.
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) is a volunteer-based community effort from the Fedora project to create a repository of high-quality add-on packages that complement the Fedora-based Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its compatible spinoffs such as CentOS or Scientific Linux.[19]
Software package management is primarily handled by the yum utility.[20] Graphical interfaces, such as pirut and pup are provided, as well as puplet, which provides visual notifications in the panel when updates are available.[20] apt-rpm is an alternative to yum, and may be more familiar to people used to Debian or Debian-based distributions, where Advanced Packaging Tool is used to manage packages.[21] Additionally, extra repositories can be added to the system, so that packages not available in Fedora can be installed.[22]
Before Fedora 7, there were two main repositories – Core and Extras. Fedora Core contained all the base packages that were required by the operating system, as well as other packages that were distributed along with the installation CD/DVDs, and was maintained only by Red Hat developers. Fedora Extras, the secondary repository that was included from Fedora Core 3, was community-maintained and not distributed along with the installation CD/DVDs. Since Fedora 7, the Core and Extras repositories have been merged, hence the distribution dropping Core from its name.[23] That also allowed for community submissions of packages that were formerly allowed only by Red Hat developers.
Also prior to Fedora 7 being released, there was a third repository called Fedora Legacy. This repository was community-maintained and was mainly concerned with extending the life cycle of older Fedora Core distributions and selected Red Hat Linux releases that were no longer officially maintained.[24] Fedora Legacy was shut down in December 2006.[25]
Third party repositories exist that distribute more packages that are not included in Fedora either because it does not meet Fedora's definition of free software or because distribution of that software may violate US law. The primary third party repository and the only fully compatible ones are RPM Fusion and Livna. RPM Fusion is a joint effort by many third party repository maintainers. Livna is still maintained separately as an extension of RPM Fusion for legal reasons and only hosts the libdvdcss package for encrypted DVD playback support.
Security is one of the most important features in Fedora. One of the security features in Fedora is Security-Enhanced Linux, a Linux feature that implements a variety of security policies, including mandatory access controls, through the use of Linux Security Modules (LSM) in the Linux kernel. Fedora is one of the distributions leading the way with SELinux.[26] SELinux was introduced in Fedora Core 2. It was disabled by default, as it radically altered how the operating system worked, but was enabled SPARC.
Fedora Core 1 was the first version of Fedora and was released on November 6, 2003.[1] It was codenamed Yarrow. Fedora Core 1 was based on Red Hat Linux 9 and shipped with version 2.4.19 of the Linux kernel, version 2.4 of the GNOME desktop environment, and version 3.1 of KDE (the K Desktop Environment).[27]
Fedora Core 2 was released on May 18, 2004, codenamed Tettnang.[28] It shipped with Linux 2.6, GNOME 2.6, KDE 3.2, and SELinux[28] (SELinux was disabled by default due to concerns that it radically altered the way that Fedora Core ran).[29] XFree86 was replaced by the newer X.org, a merger of the previous official X11R6 release, which additionally included a number of updates to Xrender, Xft, Xcursor, fontconfig libraries, and other significant improvements.[29]
Fedora Core 3 was released on November 8, 2004, codenamed Heidelberg.[30] This was the first release of Fedora Core to include the Mozilla Firefox web browser, as well as support for the Indic languages.[30] This release also saw the LILO boot loader deprecated in favour of GRUB.[30] SELinux was also enabled by default, but with a new targeted policy, which was less strict than the policy used in Fedora Core 2.[30] Fedora Core 3 shipped with GNOME 2.8 and KDE 3.3.[30] It was the first release to include the new Fedora Extras repository.[31]
Fedora Core 4 was released on June 13, 2005, with the codename Stentz.[32] It shipped with Linux 2.6.11,[32] KDE 3.4 and GNOME 2.10.[33] This version introduced the new Clearlooks theme, which was inspired by the Red Hat Bluecurve theme.[33] It also shipped with the OpenOffice.org 2.0 office suite, as well as Xen, a high performance and secure open source virtualization framework.[33] It also introduced support for the PowerPC CPU architecture, and over 80 new policies for SELinux.[33]
The last two cores introduced specific artwork that defined them. This is a trend that has continued in later Fedora versions.
Fedora Core 5 was released on March 20, 2006, with the codename Bordeaux, and introduced the Fedora Bubbles artwork.[34] It was the first Fedora release to include Mono and tools built with it such as Beagle, F-Spot and Tomboy.[34] It also introduced new package management tools such as pup and pirut (see Yellow dog Updater, Modified). It also was the first Fedora release not to include the long deprecated (but kept for compatibility) LinuxThreads, replaced by the Native POSIX Thread Library.[35]
Fedora Core 6 was released on October 24, 2006, codenamed Zod.[36] This release introduced the Fedora DNA artwork, replacing the Fedora Bubbles artwork used in Fedora Core 5.[37] The codename is derived from the infamous villain, General Zod, from the Superman DC Comic Books.[38] This version introduced support for the Compiz compositing window manager and AIGLX (a technology that enables GL-accelerated effects on a standard desktop).[37] It shipped with Firefox 1.5 as the default web browser, and Smolt, a tool that allows users to inform developers about the hardware they use.
Fedora 7, codenamed Moonshine, was released on May 31, 2007.[39] The biggest difference between Fedora Core 6 and Fedora 7 was the merging of the Red Hat "Core" and Community "Extras" repositories,[39] and the new build system put in place to manage those packages. This release used entirely new build and compose tools that enabled the user to create fully-customized Fedora distributions that could also include packages from any third party provider.[39]
There were three official spins available for Fedora 7:[40]
Fedora 7 featured GNOME 2.18 and KDE 3.5, a new theme entitled Flying High, OpenOffice.org 2.2 and Firefox 2.0.[40] Fast user switching was fully integrated and enabled by default.[40] Also, there were a number of updates to SELinux, including a new setroubleshoot tool for debugging SELinux security notifications, and a new, comprehensive system-config-selinux tool for fine-tuning the SELinux setup.[40]
Fedora 8, codenamed Werewolf, was released on November 8, 2007.[41]
Some of the new features and updates in Fedora 8 included:[42]
Fedora 8 also included a new desktop artwork entitled Infinity, and a new desktop theme called Nodoka. A unique feature of Infinity is that the wallpaper can change during the day to reflect the time of day.[42]
In February 2008, a new Xfce Live CD "spin" was announced for the x86 and x86-64 architectures.[43] This Live CD version uses the Xfce desktop environment, which aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use. Like the GNOME and KDE spins, the Xfce spin can be installed to the hard disk.[43]
Fedora 9, codenamed Sulphur, was released on May 13, 2008.[44]
Some of the new features of Fedora 9 included:[45]
Fedora 9 featured a new artwork entitled Waves which, like Infinity in Fedora 8, changes the wallpaper to reflect the time of day.
Fedora 10, codenamed Cambridge, was released on November 25, 2008.[50] It flaunts the new Solar artwork. Its features include:[51]
Fedora 11, codenamed Leonidas, was released on June 9, 2009.[52] This was the first release whose artwork is determined by the name instead of by users voting on themes.
Some of the features in Fedora 11 are:
Fedora 12, codenamed Constantine, was released on November 17, 2009[56].
Some of the features in Fedora 12 are:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Release no longer supported[61] |
| Green | Release still supported |
| Blue | Future release |
| Project Name | Version | Code name | Release date | Kernel version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fedora Core | 1 | Yarrow | 2003–11–05 | 2.4.19 |
| 2 | Tettnang | 2004–05–18 | 2.6.5 | |
| 3 | Heidelberg | 2004–11–08 | 2.6.9 | |
| 4 | Stentz | 2005–06–13 | 2.6.11 | |
| 5 | Bordeaux | 2006–03–20 | 2.6.15 | |
| 6 | Zod | 2006–10–24 | 2.6.18 | |
| Fedora | 7 | Moonshine | 2007–05–31 | 2.6.21 |
| 8 | Werewolf | 2007–11–08 | 2.6.23 | |
| 9 | Sulphur | 2008–05–13 | 2.6.25 | |
| 10 | Cambridge | 2008–11–25 | 2.6.27 | |
| 11 | Leonidas | 2009–06–09[62] | 2.6.29 | |
| 12 | Constantine | 2009–11–17[63] | 2.6.31 | |
| 13 | Goddard | 2010–05–11 [64] | 2.6.33 |

![]() Fedora Core 1 |
![]() Fedora Core 2 |
![]() Fedora Core 3 |
![]() Fedora Core 4 |
![]() Fedora Core 5 |
![]() Fedora Core 6 |
![]() Fedora 7 |
![]() Fedora 8 |
![]() Fedora 9 |
![]() Fedora 10 |
![]() Fedora 11 |
![]() Fedora 12 |
In August 2008 several Fedora servers were compromised. Upon investigation it was found that one of the compromised servers was used for signing Fedora Update packages. The Fedora Project stated that the attacker(s) did not get the package signing key which could be used to introduce malicious software onto Fedora users' systems through the update process. Project Administrators performed checks on the software and did not find anything to suggest that a Trojan horse had been introduced into the software. As a precaution the Project converted to new package signing keys.[71][72]
Fedora published the full details on 30 March 2009.[73]
Media related to Fedora (Operating System) at Wikimedia Commons
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| Company / developer | Fedora Project |
|---|---|
| OS family | Linux |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Various |
| Latest stable release |
13 / November 17 2009[1] |
| Update method | Yum, Anaconda |
| Package manager | RPM Package Manager |
| Supported platforms | x86, X86-64, PowerPC |
| Kernel type | Monolithic kernel |
| Default user interface | GNOME |
| License | GNU GPL & Various others. |
| Website | fedoraproject.org |
Fedora is a distribution (or distro) of Linux developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat. It is designed to be safe and is used by companies and governments. Fedora's mission statement is: "Fedora is about the rapid progress of Free and Open Source software."[2]
Linus Torvalds, author of the Linux kernel, says he uses Fedora because it had fairly good support for PowerPC when he used that processor architecture. He became used to the operating system and continues to use it.[3]
Contents |
Fedora Core 1 was the first version of Fedora and was released on November 6, 2003,[4] and was codenamed Yarrow. Fedora Core 1 was based on Red Hat Linux 9 and shipped with version 2.4.19 of the Linux kernel, version 2.4 of the GNOME desktop environment, and version 3.1.4 of KDE (the K Desktop Environment).
Fedora Core 2 was released on May 18, 2004, codenamed Tettnang.[5] It shipped with Linux 2.6, GNOME 2.6, KDE 3.2.2, and SELinux[6] XFree86 was replaced by the newer X.org, a merger of the previous official X11R6 release, which additionally included a number of updates to Xrender, Xft, Xcursor, fontconfig libraries, and other significant improvements.
Fedora Core 3 was released on November 8, 2004, codenamed Heidelberg.[7] This was the first release of Fedora Core to include the Mozilla Firefox web browser, as well as support for the Indic languages.[7] This release also replaced the LILO boot loader with GRUB.[7] SELinux was also enabled by default, but with a new targeted policy, which was less strict than the policy used in Fedora Core 2.[7] Fedora Core 3 shipped with GNOME 2.8 and KDE 3.3.[7] It was the first release to include the new Fedora Extras repository.
Fedora Core 4 was released on June 13, 2005, with the codename Stentz.[8] It shipped with Linux 2.6.11,[8] KDE 3.4 and GNOME 2.10.[9] This version introduced the new Clearlooks theme, which was inspired by the Red Hat Bluecurve theme.[9] It also shipped with the OpenOffice.org 2.0 office suite, as well as Xen, a high performance and secure open source virtualization framework.[9] It also introduced support for the PowerPC CPU architecture, and over 80 new policies for SELinux.
The last two cores introduced specific artwork for that version. This is a trend that has continued in later Fedora versions.
Fedora Core 5 was released on March 20 2006, with the codename Bordeaux, and introduced the Fedora Bubbles artwork.[10] It was the first Fedora release to include Mono and tools built with it such as Beagle, F-Spot and Tomboy.[10] It also introduced new package management tools such as pup and pirut (see Yellow dog Updater, Modified). It also was the first Fedora release not to include the long deprecated (but kept for compatibility) LinuxThreads, replaced by the Native POSIX Thread Library.[11]
Fedora Core 6 was released on October 24 2006, codenamed Zod.[12] This release introduced the Fedora DNA artwork, replacing the Fedora Bubbles artwork used in Fedora Core 5.[13] The codename is derived from the infamous villain, General Zod, from the Superman DC Comic Books.[14] This version introduced support for the Compiz compositing window manager and AIGLX (a technology that enables GL-accelerated effects on a standard desktop).[13] It shipped with Firefox 1.5 as the default web browser, and Smolt, a tool that allows users to inform developers about the hardware they use.
None of these distributions are maintained by the Fedora Project.[15]
Fedora 10, codenamed Cambridge,[16] was released on 25 November 2008.[17]
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Release no longer supported[15] |
| Green | Release still supported |
| Blue | Future release |
| Project Name | Version | Code name | Release date | Kernel version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fedora Core | 1 | Yarrow | 2003–11–05 | 2.4.19 |
| 2 | Tettnang | 2004–05–18 | 2.6.5 | |
| 3 | Heidelberg | 2004–11–08 | 2.6.9 | |
| 4 | Stentz | 2005–06–13 | 2.6.11 | |
| 5 | Bordeaux | 2006–03–20 | 2.6.15 | |
| 6 | Zod | 2006–10–24 | 2.6.18 | |
| Fedora | 7 | Moonshine | 2007–05–31 | 2.6.21 |
| 8 | Werewolf | 2007–11–08 | 2.6.23 | |
| 9 | Sulphur | 2008–05–13 | 2.6.25 | |
| 10 | Cambridge | 2008–11–25 | 2.6.27 | |
| 11 | Leonidas | 2009–06–09[18] | 2.6.29 | |
| 12 | Constantine | 2009–11–17[19] | 2.6.31 | |
| 13 | Goddard | 2010–05–11 [20] | 2.6.33 |
Fedora Core 6
Fedora Core 6 |
Fedora 8
Fedora 8 |
Fedora 10
Fedora 10 |
Fedora 11
Fedora 11 |
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