Industry observation: New Development Trend of Linux kernel Kernel2.6.23

The latest Linux Kernel 2.6.23 is dazzling. It combines easy-to-understand business features, including providing better virtualization support and updating all important scheduling programs, and common new device drivers and fixing vulnerabilities.

According to the "Code Tree" Process of Linus Torvalds, Linux will change a lot every two to three months. So far, it is undeniable that this process produces high quality and reliable code.

Torvalds is a new extreme way to promote the development of open source. As the kernel grows in both scale and complexity, community volunteers need to test and debug its rapid repetitive strain capabilities.

Torvalds maintains such a high update frequency for two reasons. First,Linux cannot lag behind in technology because it is hard to lag behind. The new kernel can be embedded into Intel and AMD processors using the latest virtualization capabilities.Second,Linux needs to support developers in its community. New features make programming increasingly boring and have to focus on other projects. When they exit, they have to attract new talents as programmers.

The description of the new features of Linux is informal and unpredictable. It keeps improving and maintains the quality and stability while adding new functions. How can we determine the next 16 years for this open-source project that lasted for 16 years? "No other open-source projects have achieved such great and solid development. "Dan Frye, IBM responsible for Linux affairs, said. "It is the first developer community of this type. "

Enterprise users have to rely on messy programs to improve many aspects of Linux system virtualization, including power management and security. It may take up to two years to make these kernel changes for Red Hat and Novell. However, as the kernel continues to develop, the future of Linux will continue.

Speed VS Quality

Although Torvald limits the amount of source code and tries its best to keep it at the core, Linux receives an average of 2000 lines of code every day. Linux kernel components are the core of the operating system. They process all common tasks, such as memory management, central processor requests, and input/output. It is surrounded by hundreds of additional feature packages to handle more specialized tasks, such as translating files and configuration files between Linux and Windows for display on Apache Web servers. But the kernel must grow to support more functions, more hardware, and more users.There were 1991 lines of code in 10250, and now there are more than 8 million lines.

Some people think that the hourly frequency of the kernel and new code is 86 lines, which exceeds the speed limit for software development. Alan Cox, a LInux volunteer, warned that some device driver changes should be tested more before being incorporated into the kernel. Andrew Morton, a skilled programmer, is also known as the "colonel of Kernel" by his peers. As a good assistant to Torvalds, Andrew Morton has always been blunt about the defects that Linux systems do not have.

But at the recent Linux Kernel Summit (Linux Kernel Summit) meeting in Cambridge, England, Torvalds said he thought he had made a mistake in the past warning of side effects. If feedback is not received from kernel maintainers and trusted development experts in a timely manner, investors will lose interest.

Torvalds relies on the most basic open-source law, that is, many users test frequently released Code, making it easier to discover defects. Linux system vulnerabilities often occur suddenly, and some hardware cannot continue to work or conflict with other software, either inside or outside the kernel. Code submission by developers is expected to solve problems, but the sudden emergence of vulnerabilities often makes them unexpected.

At this summit, Natalie Protasevich was designated as a BugMaster. more than 1500 bugs (program defects) were found in the kernel's Bugzilla database, and now dropped to 1400.

This process may cause troubles for Linux commercial users. Linux is the preferred system for travel agencies in Europe. Holger Weisbrodt, a senior System Programmer in Amadeus, said the new feature and debugging tool "takes a long time to reach the goal ." He hopes to see more emphasis on common debugging tools. In commercial operating systems, it is often quite different from this, while Linux wants to have the best of both worlds.

Virtualization on the fast lane

An Israeli developer, Avi Kivity, submitted a large KVM virtual engine with 12000 lines. KVM maintains the latest progress in files in the kernel. The KVM virtualization engine can support Intel and AMD processors.

However, Andrew Morton believes that adding Code submitted by a little-known programmer or an emerging company is a risk. However, the Linux code is independent. If the added code is ineffective, the developer can remove it.

In the next two to three years, Torvalds will release kernel 2.6.24 to help many developers with a dozen or more new features, but it is impossible to predict that many major generals will eventually become commercial beta versions.