First Slackware 16 Alpha Released with Updated GNU Toolchain
Translated by a model; the original is in Russian.
Four and a half years after the release of Slackware 15, the oldest still-maintained Linux distribution is finally showing signs of movement toward its next version. On Saturday, Patrick Volkerding pushed out updates to the Slackware current branch, labelling them Slackware 16 Alpha 1.
An updated toolchain
The main change is the move to a new GNU toolchain. The system has been switched to Binutils 2.47, GCC 16.2.0 and version 2.44 of the GNU C Library, after which all packages were rebuilt from scratch. Volkerding's comment in the changelog is delivered in his trademark laconic tone: he wrote that “there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel,” and wished readers a good weekend.
The alpha runs on the Linux 6.18 LTS kernel. Beyond the toolchain, individual applications have also been updated for security and bug fixes — Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird and the libxml2 library. True to the spirit of the project, the LILO bootloader remains: it is still in place, even though in most other distributions it long ago gave way to more modern solutions.
Closer to release
The alpha arrived not long after Slackware finally added KDE Plasma 6 desktop packages. Judging by the pace, Slackware 16 has a chance of shipping faster than the work on version fifteen went: recall that a considerable stretch of time passed between Slackware 14 (2012) and Slackware 15.
Indirect confirmation of the alpha's preparation also came in the form of an update to Zenwalk, a Slackware-based distribution whose fresh “current milestone” now looks like a natural consequence — it builds on the same updated base.
Slackware has traditionally never chased release speed and remains a distribution for those who value a conservative, predictable and minimalist approach to how a system is put together. The appearance of the first alpha means the development cycle for the sixteenth version has officially begun, though a fair distance still lies ahead before the final release, by all appearances.
Source: Phoronix
Comments
Sign in, to comment.