This file documents the instructions for upgrading to Slackware -current, the packages added, removed, renamed, and/or split during the development cycle from Slackware 14.2 through -current, and some potential "gotchas" that users can avoid by arming themselves with a little knowledge. *** INSTRUCTIONS FOR UPGRADING FROM 14.2 *** Follow the instructions detailed in the UPGRADE.TXT located in this directory. Note that upgrading from a Slackware version earlier than 14.2 is NOT supported at all and will most likely not work. *** PACKAGE ADDITIONS SINCE 14.2 *** a/mlocate (replaces slocate) d/gcc-brig d/opencl-headers l/SDL2 l/SDL2_gfx l/SDL2_image l/SDL2_mixer l/SDL2_net l/SDL2_ttf l/ffmpeg l/gst-plugins-libav l/lame l/libbluray l/libclc l/libedit l/libidn2 l/libwebp l/ocl-icd l/python-six n/npth n/sshfs x/libXfont2 x/libinput x/libwacom x/urw-core35-fonts-otf x/vulkan-sdk x/xf86-input-libinput *** PACKAGE REMOVALS SINCE 14.2 *** a/slocate (replaced by a/mlocate) d/gcc-java l/json-c l/libtermcap n/dirmngr n/pth n/trn x/xf86-video-xgi x/xf86-video-xgixp *** NEW USERS/GROUPS SINCE 14.2 *** cgred group, GID 41. ntp user and group, UID and GID 44. *** OTHER NOTABLE CHANGES AND HINTS *** Use one of the provided generic kernels for daily use. Do not report bugs until/unless you have reproduced them using one of the stock generic kernels. You will need to create an initrd in order to boot the generic kernels - see /boot/README.initrd for instructions. The huge kernels are primarily intended as "installer" and "emergency" kernels in case you forget to make an initrd. For most systems, you should use the generic SMP kernel if it will run, even if your system is not SMP-capable. Some newer hardware needs the local APIC enabled in the SMP kernel, and theoretically there should not be a performance penalty with using the SMP-capable kernel on a uniprocessor machine, as the SMP kernel tests for this and makes necessary adjustments. Furthermore, the kernel sources shipped with Slackware are configured for SMP usage, so you won't have to modify those to build external modules (such as NVidia or ATI proprietary drivers) if you use the SMP kernel. If you decide to use one of the non-SMP kernels, you will need to follow the instructions in /extra/linux-4.9.36-nosmp-sdk/README.TXT to modify your kernel sources for non-SMP usage. Note that this only applies if you are using the Slackware-provided non-SMP kernel - if you build a custom kernel, the symlinks at /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/{build,source} will point to the correct kernel source so long as you don't (re)move it. Printing, scanning, and bluetooth usage require that your user account be a member of the "lp" group (membership in the "scanner" group is no longer needed by any of the included scanner drivers, though some third party drivers may still need it); we had to configure sane to use the "lp" group or else multifunction devices (e.g. print/scan/copy units) would only do one or the other (depending on whether the group ownership was "lp" or "scanner"). If you want to change the resolution of the KMS console, that can be done with something like this as a kernel append in lilo.conf: append="video=1024x768" Speaking of lilo.conf and KMS, make sure you use either vga=normal or vga=extended -- some of the framebuffers don't like KMS very much... If your cd/dvd drive is not visible inside a gtk-based desktop environment (e.g. Xfce), you may need to add "comment=x-gvfs-show" to the /etc/fstab line for the device. For more information, see this document: http://git.gnome.org/browse/gvfs/tree/monitor/udisks2/what-is-shown.txt If you have set up an encrypted root partition, you will need to have access to your keyboard in order to type the passphrase. This may require you to add the uhci-hcd and usbhid modules to your initrd image if you have a USB keyboard. Also note that if you are using a non-US keyboard, you can use the '-l' parameter to the 'mkinitrd' command in order to add support for this keyboard to your initrd. If you have permission errors when attempting to burn a cdrom or dvd image, such as the following: /usr/bin/cdrecord: Operation not permitted. Cannot send SCSI cmd via ioctl then cdrecord almost certainly needs root privileges to work correctly. One potential solution is to make the cdrecord and cdrdao binaries suid root, but this has possible security implications. The safest way to do that is to make those binaries suid root, owned by a specific group, and executable by only root and members of that group. For most people, the example below will be sufficient (but adjust as desired depending on your specific needs): chown root:cdrom /usr/bin/cdrecord /usr/bin/cdrdao chmod 4750 /usr/bin/cdrecord /usr/bin/cdrdao If you don't want all members of the 'cdrom' group to be able to execute the two suid binaries, then create a special group (such as 'burning' which is recommended by k3b), use it instead of 'cdrom' in the line above, and add to it only the users you wish to have access to cdrecord and cdrdao. The ntp package has changed such that ntpd now drops privileges and runs as user ntp and group ntp. Be sure to move/merge the changes to rc.ntpd and /etc/ntp.conf. The gnupg2 package has changed such that the gpg agent is autostarted on demand now, so be sure to remove any local profile script changes to handle that. Also, there is a new keyring format used by gnupg2-2.1.x, so have a look at https://www.gnupg.org/faq/whats-new-in-2.1.html#keybox for migration tips. Subpixel hinting in freetype has been enabled upstream by default, but you may adjust this in /etc/profile.d/freetype.{csh,sh}. Input methods for complex characters (CJK, which is shorthand for Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and other non-latin character sets have been added. These input methods use the SCIM (Smart Common Input Method) platform. The environment variables for SCIM support are set in /etc/profile.d/scim.sh The requirements for getting SCIM input methods to work in your X session are as follows: (1) Use a UTF-8 locale. Look in /etc/profile.d/lang.sh for setting your language to (for instance) en_US.UTF-8. As a word of warning: maybe you should leave root with a non-UTF-8 locale because you don't want root's commands to be misinterpreted. You can add the following line to your ~/.profile file to enable UTF-8 just for yourself: export LANG=en_US.UTF-8 (2) Make the scim profile scripts executable. These will setup your environment correctly for the use of scim with X applications. Run: chmod +x /etc/profile.d/scim.* (3) Start the scim daemon as soon as your X session starts. The scim daemon must be active before any of your X applications. In KDE, you can add a shell script to the ~/.kde/Autostart folder that runs the command "scim -d". In XFCE you can add "scim -d" to the Autostarted Applications. If you boot your computer in runlevel 4 (the graphical XDM/KDM login) you can simply add the line "scim -d" to your ~/.xprofile file. This gives you a Desktop Environment independent way of starting scim. When scim is running, you will see a small keyboard icon in your system tray. Right-click it to enter SCIM Setup. In 'Global Setup' select your keyboard layout, and you are ready to start entering just about any language characters you wish! Press the magical key combo in order to activate or deactivate SCIM input. The SCIM taskbar in the desktop's corner allows you to select a language. As you type, SCIM will show an overview of applicable character glyphs (if you are inputting complex characters like Japanese).