Shulou(Shulou.com)06/02 Report--

Recently, the Linux Foundation released its 2017 Linux kernel development report to check which kernel is being used by Linux kernel developers and their contribution progress. This year's report focuses on Linux kernels 4.8 to 4.13, with a detailed introduction to the Linux kernel 4.13.

The Linux kernel constitutes the core of the Linux operating system. The kernel is used to manage hardware, run user programs and maintain security. The report points out that the kernel is a relatively small piece of software on a complete Linux system (many other large components come from the GNU project, the GNOME and KDE desktop project, the X.org project, and others), but it is the core that determines the performance of the system and is what makes the Linux system truly unique.

Since 2005, about 15600 developers from more than 1400 companies have contributed to the Linux kernel. Last year's report showed that more than 4300 developers from more than 500 companies contributed to the kernel, of which about 1670 developers started using the Linux kernel for the first time. The Linux kernel is not a young project. It is reported that the software world is constantly changing, and today's hot spots don't usually last until tomorrow, but now Linux is stronger than ever.

The picture above shows the contribution of major companies to the Linux kernel. Intel still ranks first, followed by Red Hat, Linaro, IBM, consultants, Samsung, SUSE, Google and AMD. Huawei is second only to Oracle, and the overall ranking is still very high, and Microsoft does not appear in the list.

A survey of the number of new developers related to the Linux core of these companies shows that the companies at the top of the list are also unequivocal in terms of the number of developers. Intel is far ahead with 128th, and Huawei ranks third on the list. But this is also related to the company's business applications, and can not be generalized.

Over the past year, the kernel has been updated with merged changesets, new drivers, hardware, and tests. The report also details what developers want to see in the kernel community, such as focusing on community expansion, attracting more young talent, standardizing definitions, and improving code cleaning and integration.

In the usage statistics of each version of the kernel, version 4.12 is currently the most popular among enterprises. " I contribute to the Linux kernel because it's interesting. While it's hard for a company to hire all the smartest people, it can debate and work with world-class talent by contacting the kernel to develop mailing lists. The debate will inevitably make some progress, because developers always take the healthy development of the project as a common principle. " Dan Williams, an Intel software engineer, said in a report that almost every time he made a contribution, he would grow and learn something new.

Although the kernel has made great success and progress over the past 26 years, the report mentions some of the lessons learned in the course. This includes the importance of a short release cycle, the importance of tools, the importance of enterprise participation in the process, and the fact that there should be no internal boundaries within the project.

Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said that the incredible contribution and participation in the Linux kernel demonstrated the continued strength and scalability of the kernel community. This report provides important information to help demonstrate that the collaborative development model is very effective for important software projects.

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