Title
Linux Kernel Development – How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It
Author
Greg Kroah-Hartman, SuSE Labs / Novell Inc., Jonathan Corbet, LWN.net, and Amanda McPherson, The Linux Foundation
Date
4/09/2008
(Original Publish Date: 4/2/2008)
(Original Publish Date: 4/2/2008)
Abstract
The Linux kernel is the lowest level of software running on a Linux system. It is charged with managing the hardware, running user programs, and maintaining the overall security and integrity of the whole system. It is this kernel, which after its initial release by Linus Torvalds in 1991, jump-started the development of Linux as a whole. The kernel is a relatively small part of the software on a full Linux system (many other large components come from the GNU project, the GNOME and KDE desktop projects, the X.org project, and many other sources), but it is the core which determines how well the system will work and is the piece which is truly unique to Linux. The Linux kernel is an interesting project to study for a number of reasons. It is one of the largest individual components on almost any Linux system. It also features one of the fastest-moving development processes and involves more developers than any other open source project. This paper looks at how that process works, focusing on nearly three years of kernel history as represented by the 2.6.11 through 2.6.24 releases.
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