Locally Generated Content

Package management on Unix-like systems has improved out of all recognition in the last decade. However, improvements are being suggested all the time, ranging from improved utilities for existing package tools like apt and yum to Autopackage and Zero Install, both of which allow non-users to install software, to Conary, which combines package management with version control to permit multiple versions of the same software to co-exist.... [more]

In 2002, I developed a C# application using the beta version of Visual Studio .NET. Three years later, I ported the application to Mono Version 1.0.5. Today, more than six years after the original development of the application using beta VS.NET, I've decided to upgrade my application on Mono, as a way of reviewing the progress the Mono project has made in recent years.... [more]

The Linux Foundation today announced that Linux kernel developer Theodore Ts’o has been named to the position of Chief Technology Officer at the Foundation.Ts’o is currently a Linux Foundation fellow, a position he has been in since December 2007. He is one of the most highly regarded members of the Linux and open source community and is known as the first North American kernel developer. Other current and past LF fellows include Steve Hemminger, Andrew Morton, Linus Torvalds and And... [more]

Typically, preparing a hardware circuit to be burn on to a silicon chip is an intensive process. Engineers must either work in difficult-to-learn languages like Verilog or VHDL or else learn proprietary C or C-like languages that can be converted into Verilog or VHDL using software that costs thousands of dollars per license.

As companies become more distributed and less centralized in their operations, the need to spread IT out without adding a lot of capital and resource overhead has become a real challenge. One company is trying to address that need with a $100,000 developer contest to build the best applications for the distributed workforce.

If you are used to Linux or UNIX, familiar with C or C++ development, or have ever downloaded and installed a source distribution that wasn't a source RPM, you probably have some familiarity with GNU Autotools. If you want to find out how they work and how they work together, what they are useful for, and how to make use of they in your application, this document is for you. It is intended to give a basic introduction to the use of the GNU Autotools toolchain, particularly on SUSE Linux.... [more]

The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the results of its 2008 Technical Advisory Board  (TAB) election, which drew record numbers of candidates and voters. The TAB consists of ten members of the Linux kernel community, who are annually elected by their peers to serve staggered, two-year terms.  The TAB collaborates with The Linux Foundation on programs and issues that affect the Linux community. The TAB cha... [more]

The Linux kernel is the core of a large and complex operating system, and while it's huge, it is well organized in terms of subsystems and layers. In this article, you explore the general structure of the Linux kernel and get to know its major subsystems and core interfaces. Where possible, you get links to other IBM articles to help you dig deeper.

Upon examination the Linux Standard Base, in the currently released form, is missing one large camp of developers and applications—namely Java. That’s not to say you can’t run Java applications on essentially every Linux distribution. What it does say is there is no “LSB certified” offering for developers to target, giving them 100% confidence that their application will run as they intend it to.

Interested in the personalities and thoughts of the folks who shape the Linux kernel? Then be sure to visit the Kernel Summit 2008 Video page at the Linux Foundation site to watch any of a series of 15 interviews with the movers and shakers of the kernel, including Linus Torvalds. The videos, which are viewable online or as Flash or OGG downloads, cover a wide range of topics: