Fedora 37 Gets A Batch Of New Features Approved

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Fedora 37 Gets A Batch Of New Features Approved

The Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo) has approved a fresh batch of features for the next Fedora Linux distribution release...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Fedora-37-More-Features

[birdie]

Speaking of "Install Using GPT on x86_64 BIOS by Default", the proposal is here, I'm not a fan of it at all.

Why? The partitioning scheme used to be enough to deduct whether the user is using MBR or UEFI to boot. From now on it's no longer the case.

Also, good luck co-installing other Linux distros with Fedora - most likely their installers will fail spectacularly. "We are booted using BIOS, where's the good old MBR? Just one 0xEE partition? WTF? Bailing out!"

Oh, and naturally you won't be able to co-install Windows. No ifs or buts.

[Jannik2099]

Speaking of "Install Using GPT on x86_64 BIOS by Default", the proposal is here, I'm not a fan of it at all.

Why? The partitioning scheme used to be enough to deduct whether the user is using MBR or UEFI to boot. From now on it's no longer the case.

Also, good luck co-installing other Linux distros with Fedora - most likely their installers will fail spectacularly. "We are booted using BIOS, where's the good old MBR? Just one 0xEE partition? WTF? Bailing out!"

Oh, and naturally you won't be able to co-install Windows. No ifs or buts.

The way to detect whether the user is UEFI-booting or not has ALWAYS been looking at /sys/firmware/efi for booted systems, or looking whether a GPT partition with the ESP type exists.

GPT also still has a protective MBR area where the "good old MBR" sits.

[jonkoops]

Why? The partitioning scheme used to be enough to deduct whether the user is using MBR or UEFI to boot. From now on it's no longer the case.

https://xkcd.com/1172/

[stormcrow]

The way to detect whether the user is UEFI-booting or not has ALWAYS been looking at /sys/firmware/efi for booted systems, or looking whether a GPT partition with the ESP type exists.

GPT also still has a protective MBR area where the "good old MBR" sits.

Windows 10 won't have a problem with it, either. Microsoft can read the specs just like everyone else. Besides, only a fool installs Windows AFTER installing Linux. Windows will automatically wipe your install shims and install its own. Windows first. Fedora second. If you let Fedora nuke your Windows install then that's on you. Next time read the installation docs.

[dragon321]

Windows 10 won't have a problem with it, either. Microsoft can read the specs just like everyone else. Besides, only a fool installs Windows AFTER installing Linux. Windows will automatically wipe your install shims and install its own. Windows first. Fedora second. If you let Fedora nuke your Windows install then that's on you. Next time read the installation docs.

It will have problem with setup because Windows can't be installed on GPT disk without UEFI. And that "Install Windows first then Linux" advice is not that useful anymore. Even before UEFI restoring Linux bootloader wasn't very complicated but with UEFI is not even needed at all. So with UEFI there is no difference which OS will be installed first, they won't nuke each other loader and UEFI should provide option to boot selected OS.

Actually it's a good change. GPT even without UEFI can be useful and there is no point of replicating Windows limitations on Linux. I guess situations when you would like to install Windows after installing Linux are pretty rare and even if they sometimes occur then whoever does it probably knows how to make it work properly.

[archkde]

Speaking of "Install Using GPT on x86_64 BIOS by Default", the proposal is here, I'm not a fan of it at all.

Why? The partitioning scheme used to be enough to deduct whether the user is using MBR or UEFI to boot. From now on it's no longer the case.

Also, good luck co-installing other Linux distros with Fedora - most likely their installers will fail spectacularly. "We are booted using BIOS, where's the good old MBR? Just one 0xEE partition? WTF? Bailing out!"

Oh, and naturally you won't be able to co-install Windows. No ifs or buts.

Linux shouldn't be a problem, the kernel can read GPT just fine (also when booted in BIOS mode, actually this is not relevant and the Windows limitation is artificial). Windows IIRC supports BIOS boot from GPT starting with 10, but don't quote me on that.

[King InuYasha]

Speaking of "Install Using GPT on x86_64 BIOS by Default", the proposal is here, I'm not a fan of it at all.

Why? The partitioning scheme used to be enough to deduct whether the user is using MBR or UEFI to boot. From now on it's no longer the case.

Also, good luck co-installing other Linux distros with Fedora - most likely their installers will fail spectacularly. "We are booted using BIOS, where's the good old MBR? Just one 0xEE partition? WTF? Bailing out!"

Oh, and naturally you won't be able to co-install Windows. No ifs or buts.

This is not true even now. Both Linux and Windows use GPT for BIOS if your main OS drive is 2TB or larger anyway.

[hamishmb]

The way to detect whether the user is UEFI-booting or not has ALWAYS been looking at /sys/firmware/efi for booted systems, or looking whether a GPT partition with the ESP type exists.

GPT also still has a protective MBR area where the "good old MBR" sits.

This, 100%. I wrote a tool back in the day called WxFixBoot to help people fix bootloader problems and migrate between BIOS and EFI bootloaders.

[Calinou]

- Fedora 37 Python will add the "-P" flag to the default shebangs for Python shebang macros.

Out of curiosity, what does this change do? On my Python 3.9.0 installation, there's no -P CLI argument:

❯ python -P
Unknown option: -P