Yellow Dog Linux
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2008) |
| File:Ydllogo 3d.jpg | |
| Developer | Fixstars Solutions |
|---|---|
| OS family | Unix-like |
| Working state | Active |
| Source model | Free Software / Open source |
| Latest release | 6.2 / June 29, 2009 |
| Platforms | Power Architecture, Cell |
| Kernel type | Monolithic kernel |
| Default user interface | Enlightenment |
| License | GNU GPL, LGPL, others |
| Official website | www.yellowdoglinux.com |
Yellow Dog Linux, also YDL, is a free-software, open-source operating system for Power Architecture computers. Developed by Fixstars (formerly known as Terra Soft), Yellow Dog Linux was first released in 1999 for the Apple Macintosh. The most recent version, version 6.2, was released on 29 June 2009.[1]
Features
Yellow Dog Linux is based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS core[clarification needed] and relies on the RPM package manager. Yellow Dog Linux includes free software user applications such as Ekiga (a voice-over-IP and videoconferencing application), GIMP (a raster graphics editor), Gnash (a free Adobe Flash player), gThumb (an image viewer), the Mozilla Firefox Web browser, the Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail and news client, the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, Pidgin (an instant messaging and IRC client), the Rhythmbox music player, and the Noatun and Totem media players.
Since YDL version 5.0 ‘Phoenix,’ Enlightenment has been the default desktop environment in Yellow Dog Linux, although GNOME and KDE are also included.
Like other Linux distributions, Yellow Dog Linux supports software development with GCC (compiled with support for C, C++, Java, and Fortran), the GNU C Library, GDB, GLib, the GTK+ toolkit, Python, the Qt toolkit, Ruby and Tcl. Standard text editors such as Vim and Emacs are complemented with IDEs such as Eclipse and KDevelop, as well as by graphical debuggers such as KDbg. Standard document preparation tools such as TeX and LaTeX are also included.
Yellow Dog Linux includes software suitable for running a Web server (such as Apache/httpd, Perl, and PHP), database server (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL), and network server (NFS and Webmin). Additional software is also included for running an enterprise server or a compute server or cluster, although two separate products from Terra Soft Solutions, called Yellow Dog Enterprise Linux (for enterprise servers) and Y-HPC (for compute servers/clusters), are specifically targeted toward those applications.
Yellow Dog Linux, version 6.0 ‘Pyxis,’ is based on Linux 2.6.23 and ships with GCC 4.1.1, glibc 4.1.1, and Eclipse 3.2.2. Yellow Dog Linux Version 6.0 ‘Pyxis’ ships with over 2000 software packages.[2]
Although several other Linux distributions support the Power Architecture, Yellow Dog Linux was distinguished for its focus on supporting the Apple Macintosh platform before the Apple Intel transition. Before this transition, Terra Soft Solutions held the unique distinction of being the only company licensed by Apple to resell Apple computers with Linux pre-installed (or for that matter, with any operating system other than Mac OS X). Full support for AirPort (Apple’s implementation of the IEEE 802.11b-1999 wireless networking standard), and partial support for AirPort Extreme, are also built into Yellow Dog Linux, as are support for Bluetooth and support for accessing the Internet over cellular phones.
Following Apple’s transition to using Intel processors exclusively in their Macintosh line of computers, Yellow Dog Linux has now been retargeted to support the Sony PlayStation 3 and IBM pSeries platforms extensively, while retaining its longstanding support for PowerPC-based Apple hardware.
Distribution
Yellow Dog Linux is sold by Fixstars and also markets Sony PlayStation 3 consoles, IBM workstations, and servers with Yellow Dog Linux pre-installed. As is the case with most other Linux distribution vendors, a portion of the revenue from the sale of these boxed distributions goes toward development of the GNU/Linux operating system and applications, the results of which are then re-released into the free software community.[citation needed]
Yellow Dog Linux is also the pre-installed operating system in Sony's Cell-based high performance computing node, Zego.
Releases
The following table summarizes the release history of Yellow Dog Linux:
- Source: DistroWatch
| Version | Name | Release date | Linux version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | ? | 8 March 1999 | 2.2.15 | |
| 1.2 | ? | 4 March 2000 | 2.2.19 | |
| 2.0 | Pomona | 17 May 2001 | 2.4.10 | |
| 2.1 | Fuji | 17 October 2001 | 2.4.18 | |
| 2.2 | Rome | 22 March 2002 | 2.4.19 | |
| 2.3 | Dayton | 23 June 2002 | 2.4.20 | |
| 3.0 | Sirius | 19 March 2003 | 2.4.22 | |
| 3.0.1 | " | 17 September 2003 | 2.4.22 | Fixes issue with RPMs in ver. 3.0 |
| 4.0 | Orion | 29 September 2004 | 2.6.15-rc5 | |
| 4.1 | Sagitta | 2 February 2006 | " | |
| 5.0 | Phoenix | 27 November 2006 | 2.6.16 [1] | Support for PlayStation 3 (Cell) |
| 5.0.1 | " | 27 March 2007 | 2.6.17 | |
| 5.0.2 | " | 14 June 2007 | 2.6.22-rc4 | Support for IBM pSeries |
| 6.0 | Pyxis | 5 February 2008 | 2.6.23 | |
| 6.1 | ? | 19 November 2008 | 2.6.27 | |
| 6.1 | Pyxis | 1 February 2009 | 2.6.28 | http://ydl.oregonstate.edu/iso/RELEASE-NOTES |
| 6.2 | ? | 29 June 2009 | 2.6.29 |
References
- ^ “ Yellow Dog Linux 6.2 Offers Xfce, USB Install, EPEL Extra Packages, and more than 600 updates” Fixstars press release, 29 June 2009.
- ^ Yellow Dog Linux Web site.
External links
- Yellow Dog Linux on PS3
- Yellow Dog Linux home page
- Yellow Dog Linux at DistroWatch
- penguinppc.org – Linux on PowerPC site
Reviews
- “Software Review: Yellow Dog Linux 5 for PlayStation 3” – BlogCritics Magazine review of YDL version 5.0
- “Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 Hands-on” – IGN.com review of YDL version 5.0
- “Yellow Dog Linux 4.0: Some Install Notes” – ppcnerds.org review of YDL version 4.0
