Fedora (operating system) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Fedora
Fedora 31 running GNOME
Company / developer	Fedora Project
OS family	Linux
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Latest stable release	31 / 29 October 2019
Update method	Yum, Anaconda
Package manager	RPM Package Manager
Supported platforms	x86, X86-64, ARM
Kernel type	Monolithic kernel
Default user interface	GNOME
License	Free software licenses (mainly GPL)
Official website	fedoraproject.org

Fedora is a type of Linux operating system. It's like Windows or macOS, but it's free and open source. This means anyone can use it, change it, and share it. The Fedora Project community develops Fedora, and a company called Red Hat helps support it.

Fedora is made to be very safe and is used by many companies and governments. Its main goal is to quickly improve free and open source software.

Did you know that Linus Torvalds, the person who created the Linux kernel (the main part of the Linux operating system), uses Fedora? He started using it because it worked well with a certain type of computer chip he had. He liked it so much that he kept using it!

Fedora Versions Over Time
Software Packages
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

Fedora Versions Over Time

Fedora has had many different versions, each with new features and improvements.

Early Fedora Versions (Core 1-4)

Fedora Core 1

Fedora Core 4 using GNOME and the Bluecurve theme

Fedora Core 1 was the very first version. It came out on November 6, 2003, and was called "Yarrow." It used an older version of Linux and the GNOME and KDE desktop environments.
Fedora Core 2 was released on May 18, 2004, named "Tettnang." This version included a newer Linux kernel and SELinux, which helps make the system more secure. It also switched to X.org for displaying graphics.
Fedora Core 3 came out on November 8, 2004, called "Heidelberg." This was the first Fedora to include the Mozilla Firefox web browser. It also added support for many different languages, especially those from India. This version also made SELinux active by default, but in a way that was less strict.
Fedora Core 4 was released on June 13, 2005, and was named "Stentz." It introduced a new look called "Clearlooks." This version also included the OpenOffice.org office programs and Xen, which helps run multiple computer systems on one machine. It also added support for PowerPC computer chips.

More Fedora Core Versions (Core 5-6)

Fedora Core 6

These versions started a trend of having special artwork for each release.

Fedora Core 5 was released on March 20, 2006, called "Bordeaux." It brought in the "Fedora Bubbles" artwork. This version also included new tools for managing software packages.
Fedora Core 6 came out on October 24, 2006, named "Zod." This name came from a famous villain in Superman comics! It introduced the "Fedora DNA" artwork. This version also added support for cool visual effects on your desktop, like Compiz.

It's important to know that the Fedora Project no longer supports these older "Core" versions.

Fedora 10

Fedora 10, known as Cambridge, was released on November 25, 2008.

History of Fedora Versions

This table shows the different versions of Fedora over the years.

Color	Meaning
Red	This version is no longer supported.
Green	This version is still supported.
Blue	This is a future version.

Project Name	Version	Code name	Release date	Kernel version
Fedora Core	1	Yarrow	2003–11–05	2.4.19
	2	Tettnang	2004–05–18	2.6.5
	3	Heidelberg	2004–11–08	2.6.9
	4	Stentz	2005–06–13	2.6.11
	5	Bordeaux	2006–03–20	2.6.15
	6	Zod	2006–10–24	2.6.18
Fedora	7	Moonshine	2007–05–31	2.6.21
	8	Werewolf	2007–11–08	2.6.23
	9	Sulphur	2008–05–13	2.6.25
	10	Cambridge	2008–11–25	2.6.27
	11	Leonidas	2009–06–09	2.6.29
	12	Constantine	2009–11–17	2.6.31
	13	Goddard	2010–05–11	2.6.33
	14	Laughlin	2010-11-02	2.6.35
	15	Lovelock	2011-05-24	2.6.38
	16	Verne	2011-11-08	3.1.0
	17	Beefy Miracle	2012-05-29	3.3.7
	18	Spherical Cow	Late 2012	3.6
	19	Schrödinger's Cat	2013-07-02	3.9
	20	Heisenbug	2013-12-17	3.11
	21		2014-12-09	3.17
	22		2015-05-26	4.0
	23		2015-11-03	4.2
	24		2016-06-21	4.5
	25		2016-11-22	4.8
	26		2017-07-11	4.11
	27		2017-11-14	4.13
	28		2018-05-01	4.16
	29		2018-10-30	4.18
	30		2019-04-30	5.0
	31		2019-10-22	5.3
	32		2020-04-21

Fedora Gallery

Fedora Core 1
Fedora Core 2
Fedora Core 3
Fedora Core 4
Fedora Core 5
Fedora Core 6
Fedora 7
Fedora 8
Fedora 9
Fedora 10
Fedora 11
Fedora 12
Fedora 14

Software Packages

Fedora has an official place where you can find and install many software programs. One example of a program you can find there is UNetbootin.

List of Linux distributions
Fedora at DistroWatch

Images for kids

Fedora Workstation 35 installation summary
The core values of the Fedora community
Fedora 15 (Lovelock), the first release with GNOME 3 and GNOME Shell. (2011-05)
Fedora 21, a version that brought experimental Wayland and HiDPI support (2014-12).