Interview with the father of Linux: design the kernel for fun only

【It168] "Some people are leaders of millions of people in their lives, while others are born to write software that subverts the world. The only one who can do both is Linus Torvalds ." This is what times weekly commented on Linus, the father of Linux. Linus is not only an IT wizards, but also an optimistic and humorous scholar. The it168 reporter took you to the interview with the father of Linux.

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Figure: from left to right: Linus trovalds, Andrew Morton, Jim zemlin

Linus trovalds rarely showed up at meetings, and he was rarely given a speech in front of a crowded crowd. However, he made an exception and attended the linuxcon Conference held in Brazil in August. At the Conference, he and Andrew Morton attended the Q & A session chaired by Jim zemlin, the Linux Foundation chairman. This talk involves many topics, such as the kernel development process and development history.

　　Question 1: Do you think Linux has grown so large?

Jim asked: Do you know Linus and Andrew have you ever thought that Linux will become so big today? Linus's answer is no. He said that at the beginning, he wrote Linux as a short-term project and was ready to use it better. Because there were still GNU projects and excellent BSD camps at that time, he thought there would certainly be others who made bigger and more professional kernels. At the same time, he only considered Linux as a hobby. At this time, Andrew joked: "However, it turns out that no one is doing better than Linux. I am a kernel cainiao (modestly speaking, Andrew has been in this field for at least 10 years). Although I have no long-term vision, I personally think the development of Linux is really amazing."

　　Question 2: How do you cope with the rapid development of the kernel?

Jim then asked you how to cope with the rapid development of the kernel? Andrew replied that as the kernel continues to improve, the number of developers continues to expand. The development responsibilities of the kernel were assigned to everyone, and now Linus and I are only responsible for a small part of the Linux project. In terms of code quality assurance, dealers play a major role. Based on this, Andrew also said that the kernel community only provides technology, but dealers can get the kernel from the Community and then convert it into a real product.

Linus said that I am generally not interested in Linux kernel. For example, he said that he always felt that the server market was boring, but some people applied Linux to the server field successfully. This is also one of Linux's main advantages. Linus points out that no company is interested in all Linux uses, but they are often amazed by the use of Linux. He expressed some areas of Linux applications that he did not even think. This also means that no one is solely responsible for maintaining the Linux kernel. In particular, Linus really needs to be concerned with themselves and ensure that all the code snippets are integrated. After all, the power of a single kernel is limited, and it is impossible to meet all application requirements. So what we can do is to constantly improve the kernel to meet the needs of a wider environment.

　　Question 3: Is it wise to continue using a single kernel? Can a single core be used in a multi-task environment? Do I have to temporarily discard the multi-core feature when processing a specific task?

In this interview, Jim asked about Kernel splitting and whether it is wise for Linux to continue using a single kernel, and whether a single kernel is applicable to multi-task environments; in the future, whether or not different versions of the kernel will be released independently to support the development needs of different fields.

Linus believes that a single core can work very well, and he also hates seeing Linux split. At present, problems in many fields are actually common. For example, when Linux is applied to the mobile phone field, more power management is required for the system, but it turns out that in the server field, power Management is also very important. In general, users in different application fields actually focus on the same things, but only on different occasions. For example, in the past, only high-end server applications were able to focus on Symmetric Multi-processing, but now basically cannot buy desktop computers that do not support SMP. Now SMP is also applied to mobile phones. This is the benefit of a single kernel method: If mobile phone users require SMP support, Linux is always waiting for you.

Andrew said that Linux is widely used mainly because of the unique technical attributes of the kernel. Now the Linux kernel works very easily. At present, the Linux kernel has become larger and larger with everyone's efforts. Unfortunately, many small embedded systems are still not well supported in the community, but the entire Linux community is very concerned about this part of the group, in the future, we will also provide good technical support to embedded groups.

　　Question 4: Where do kernel developers come from? How do Brazilian developers participate in kernel development?

Linus response said that Linux kernel developers mainly come from North America, Europe and Australia. Due to differences in culture and language, it makes it more difficult to manage the entire community. Linus said that to run a global project, we first need to solve the problem of language connectivity. Linus also joked: "Unfortunately, the Community is not using Finnish (Linus is a Finnish )." Linus said that there are many excellent developers in the world, but it is difficult to find excellent and good at English developers. To address regional and cultural differences, Linus claims that their common job is to build a local community and use it as a bridge to connect other communities and headquarters.

Andrew pointed out that many people have been involved in kernel development in Japan in recent years. He recorded many community members who have worked hard on the Linux Foundation. At the same time, he also found that using email is very helpful for non-local communication, because the two sides have enough time to understand the meaning of the other party. As for where to start communication, Andrew's opinion is to choose an interesting and challenging job to start.

Linus believes that open-source software is a good way to understand the world's programming situation. Open source is not like a classroom project. An active project needs to communicate with others to solve the problem. Some companies need technical talents and often find those activists in the open-source community. Therefore, participating in open-source projects is also a good way to sell yourself to the world. Linus said that good programmers are hard to find. They generally get excellent salaries and often work for open-source software. Andrew also agreed that programmers with a strong belief can shine everywhere. At Google, Andrew often receives some resumes from his internal staff, asking him to choose who to hire. His first action was to open the GIT log and see what activities these people have done in the community.

Linus said that although the kernel may not be the best learning start point for good programmers. But there are a lot of developers in the kernel, people often think that the kernel is mysterious, and even have a fear of closeness. Small projects are a good environment for beginners.

　　Question 5: Will I always work for Linux?

Linus replied, "It will always be a long time." At first, he only regarded the kernel as a two-month project, but he said that he would continue to do the kernel, because he still has fun. Because there will always be new problems that need to be solved and new hardware needs to be compatible. He has been working on this interesting project for 19 years and continues to do the kernel for a long time.

At the end of the interview, Jim summarized the Conference, mainly listing the contributions of Linus and Andrew to the Linux kernel. It was impressive when Jim said Linus and Andrew were two of the most influential people in the field of technology. They are at the same level as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison. They are the richest time in the world. Linus and Andrew both said to Jim, "Are you crazy ?," What is your motivation? ". Then there was a piece of laughter.

Editing Press: The text language is always obscure than the field feeling. I really hope Linus can come to China. When linus comes to China, it shows that China's Open Source Business is mature.