KDE development team announces KDE 3.0Beta1

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Author: JT Smith

The KDE
Project
today announced the immediate release of KDE 3.0beta1,
the third generation of KDE’s free, powerful,
easy-to-use, Internet-enabled desktop for Linux and other UNIXes.
This second pre-release of KDE 3.0, which follows two months after the
release of KDE 3.0alpha, ships with the core KDE libraries, the core
desktop environment, and over 100 applications from the other
base KDE packages (administration, multimedia, network, PIM,
utilities, development, etc.).KDE 3.0 is scheduled for final release in the second quarter 2002, with one
or more intervening “RC” releases preceding the final release.
The KDE Project will demonstrate the latest pre-release of KDE 3 at
the LinuxWorld Expo in New York
(Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2002).

“Beta1 is a stabilized snapshot of the current KDE 3 development branch
and is meant for testers, developers and translators,” explained
Dirk Mueller, the KDE 3
release coordinator. “Users can assist in the development effort
by testing this release and providing constructive feedback or helping
to update or complete documentation. We’re
especially interested in feedback about the support for RTL languages
and about the new KDE 3 features. For developers, now is a great time
to complete porting your applications to KDE 3, or
to pitch in and help implement the still-incomplete
planned
features
. In addition, the
KDE translation
project
needs new contributors who can translate KDE 3 into their
native language. Translation is another great way for non-programmers
to contribute to the continuing success and rapid improvement of KDE.”

The primary goals of the 3.0beta1 release are to:

  • enlist volunteers to help
    find bugs and provide constructive feedback through the
    KDE bugs database, and to help
    complete or update KDE documentation;
  • provide a stable API so developers can port
    their KDE 2 applications to KDE 3;
  • solicit developer feature requests before the KDE 3 API is finally
    frozen for binary compatibility, as well as developer assistance in completing
    the planned features; and
  • provide a consistent snapshot for the
    translation teams
    (this release already provides some support for
    57
    languages
    ).

Additional information about KDE 3, including
instructions for
setting up a KDE 3 system side-by-side with a KDE 2 system,
a tentative
release
plan
,
a KDE 3 info page, a list of
planned
features
, as well as a
list of open
tasks
containing interesting projects for both users and developers
who wish to contribute to KDE,
is available at the KDE websites.
Please use the KDE bugs database to
report bugs or make feature requests.

KDE and all its components (including the IDE
KDevelop) are available
for free under Open Source licenses from the KDE
ftp server
and its mirrors.

Improvements

Besides the improvements to the underlying Qt library noted in the
KDE
3.0alpha1 announcement
, this release offers the following additional
improvements compared to the KDE 2 series:

  • a new clipboard system to satisfy the preferences of all users:
    • KDE continues to offer the standard X-type clipboard; selected text is
      copied to this clipboard, and clicking the middle mouse button pastes the
      contents of this clipboard; and
    • KDE also offers a complementary, independent Windows/Mac-type clipboard;
      text is inserted in the clipboard using an application’s cut/copy
      (or generally Ctrl-x, Ctrl-c) function,
      and the application’s paste (or generally Ctrl-x) function
      pastes the contents of this clipboard;

    (note that the clipboard in Qt 3.0.1 hangs
    sometimes
    ; using qt-copy
    or upgrading to Qt 3.0.2 when it is released should cure this problem);

  • many new KMail
    features, including:

    • maildir support;
    • support for distribution lists (groups) and aliases;
    • SMTP authentication;
    • SMTP over SSL/TLS;
    • pipelining for POP3 (increases download speed on slow networks);
    • support for both on-demand downloading and deletion without downloading;
    • IMAP improvements (header caching, faster header fetching,
      creating/removing folders, drafts/sent/trash folders on the server,
      and mail checking in all folders);
    • auto-configuration of IMAP/POP3/SMTP security features;
    • automatic encoding selection for outgoing mails;
    • DIGEST-MD5 authentication;
    • keyboard shortcuts for switching between mono-spaced/proportional fonts;
    • UTF-7 supports; and
    • enhanced status reports for encrypted/signed messages;
  • important feature additions for
    KDevelop, including:

    • full cross-compiling support, with the ability to specify a
      compiler, compiler flags, target architecture, etc.; and
    • support for Qt/Embedded projects (such as the
      Zaurus and
      iPAQ);

    (note that a release of KDevelop for KDE 2.2 with these new features is
    included in most of the download directories listed below);

  • SSL certificate and CA management tools;
  • a new URL speed bar in file dialogs;
  • support for actions in the Konqueror
    sidebar; and
  • numerous feature enhancements to Konsole, including:
    • cluster management (sending input to all active sessions);
    • clearing, searching and saving of session histories;
    • specification of a working directory per session type;
    • easier renaming of sessions with a keyboard shortcut;
    • pausing scrolling while selecting text; and
    • writing utmp entries (requires the utempter library).

Additional improvements to the KDE libraries and applications are planned for
the successive RC releases leading to the first stable KDE 3.0. A
partial list of these planned features is available at KDE’s
developer website.

Porting to KDE 3

Since KDE 3 is mostly source compatible with KDE 2, porting applications
from KDE 2 to KDE 3 can usually be done with relative ease and comfort.
The process is substantially easier than the one for porting
KDE 1 applications to KDE 2; even very complicated applications have been
ported in a matter of hours.

Instructions for porting KDE 2 applications to KDE 3 are available
separately for the
KDE
libraries
and the
Qt libraries.
Most of the changes required for the port applications pertain to changes
in the Qt API. Although the KDE 3 API is not yet frozen, few changes are
anticipated for the final release of KDE 3.0.

Installing KDE 3.0beta1 Binary Packages

Binary Packages.
Some Linux distributors and some Unix distributors have provided
binary packages of KDE 3.0beta1 for recent versions of their distribution. Some
of these binary packages are available for free download under
http://download.kde.org/unstable/kde-3.0-beta1/
or under the equivalent directory at one of the many KDE ftp server
mirrors, and additional
binary packages, as well as updates to the packages now available, may
become available over the coming weeks.

Please note that the KDE team makes these packages available from the
KDE web site as a convenience to KDE users. The KDE project is not
responsible for these packages as they are provided by third
parties — typically, but not always, the distributor of the relevant
distribution. If you cannot find a binary package for your distribution,
please read the KDE Binary
Package Policy
.

Library Requirements.
The library requirements for a particular binary package vary with the
system on which the package was compiled. Please bear in mind that
some binary packages may require a newer version of Qt and other libraries
than was included with the applicable distribution (e.g., LinuxDistro 8.0
may have shipped with Qt-2.2.3 but the packages below may require
Qt-2.3.x). For general library requirements for KDE, please see the text at
Source Code – Library
Requirements
below.

Package Locations.
At the time of this release, pre-compiled packages are available for:

All of the above packages can also be obtained from the
/pub/kde/unstable/kde-3.0-beta1/
directory at one of the many KDE
ftp server mirrors.
Please check the servers periodically for pre-compiled packages for other
distributions. More binary packages will become available over the
coming days and weeks.

Downloading and Compiling KDE 3.0beta1

Library
Requirements
.
KDE 3.0beta1 requires the following libraries:

  • qt-3.0.1, which is available in source code
    from Trolltech as
    qt-x11-free-3.0.1.tar.gz,
    though due to a problem with the clipboardqt-copy (or qt-3.0.2, when released) is recommended;
  • for reading help pages and KDE documentation,
    libxml2 >= 2.3.13
    and libxslt >= 1.0.7;
  • for JavaScript/ECMAScript regular expression support,
    PCRE >= 3.5;
  • for SSL support,
    OpenSSL >= 0.9.6x
    (versions 0.9.5x are no longer supported);
  • for Java support, a JVM >= 1.3;
  • for Netscape Communicator plugin support, KDE requires a recent version of
    Lesstif or Motif;
  • for searching local documentation,
    ht://dig; and
  • for other special features, such as drag’n’drop audio CD ripping,
    certain other packages.

Compiler Requirements.
Please note that some components of
KDE 3.0beta1 will not compile with older versions of
gcc/egcs, such as egcs-1.1.2 or
gcc-2.7.2. At a minimum gcc-2.95-* is required. In addition, some
components of KDE 3.0beta1 (such as the multimedia backbone of KDE,
aRts) will not compile with
gcc 3.0.x
(this problem is being addressed but no time frame is available).

Source Code/SRPMs.
The complete source code for KDE 3.0beta1 is available for
download.
Additionally, source rpms are available for the following distributions:

All of the above packages can also be obtained from the
/pub/kde/unstable/kde-3.0-beta1/
directory at one of the many KDE
ftp server mirrors.

Further Information. For further
instructions on compiling and installing KDE 3.0beta1, please consult
the installation
instructions
and, if you should encounter problems, the
compilation FAQ.

About KDE

KDE is an independent, collaborative project by hundreds of developers
worldwide working over the Internet to create a sophisticated,
customizable and stable desktop environment employing a component-based,
network-transparent architecture. KDE provides a stable, mature desktop,
an office suite (KOffice), a large
set of networking and administration tools, and an efficient and intuitive
development environment, including an excellent IDE
(KDevelop).
KDE is working proof of the power of
the Open Source “Bazaar-style” software development model to create
first-rate technologies on par with and superior to even the most complex
commercial software.

Please visit the KDE family of web sites for the
KDE FAQ, screenshots
(KDE 2,
KDE 3),
KOffice information and
developer
information
.
Much more information
about KDE is available from KDE’s
family of web sites.

Corporate KDE Sponsors

Besides the valuable and excellent efforts by the
KDE developers
themselves, significant support for KDE development has been provided by
MandrakeSoft and
SuSE. In addition,
the members of the KDE League provide
significant support for promoting KDE and KOffice. Thanks!


Trademarks Notices.
KDE, K Desktop Environment, KDevelop and KOffice are trademarks of KDE e.V.

Compaq, Alpha, iPAQ and Tru64 are either trademarks and/or service marks or
registered trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation.

HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company.

IBM and PowerPC are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.

Intel, i386 and i586 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel
Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Netscape Communicator is a trademark or registered trademark of
Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Sun is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in
the United States and other countries.

Trolltech and Qt are trademarks of Trolltech AS.

UNIX and Motif are registered trademarks of The Open Group.

Zaurus is a trademark of Sharp Electronics Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks and copyrights referred to in this announcement are the property of their respective owners.


Press Contacts:
United States: Eunice Kim
The Terpin Group
ekim@terpin.com
(1) 650 344 4944 ext. 105
 
Kurt Granroth
granroth@kde.org
(1) 480 732 1752
 
Andreas Pour
KDE League, Inc.
pour@kde.org
(1) 917 312 3122
Europe (French and English): David Faure
faure@kde.org
(33) 4 3250 1445
Europe (German and English): Ralf Nolden
nolden@kde.org
(49) 2421 502758