Linus Torvalds returns to Linux development with new code of conduct in place (2024)
Linus Torvalds, the software engineer and outspoken Linux kernel creator, has returned to oversee the open source project following a self-imposed break last month designed to help him adjust his controversial behavior. Torvalds, who has a reputation for being rude and aggressive to other members of the community, said at the time that wanted to address his “flippant” actions and proclivity for personal attacks. “I need to change some of my behavior, and I want to apologize to the people that my personal behavior hurt and possibly drove away from kernel development,” Torvalds wrote at the time.
Now, about one month later, interim Linux chief Greg Kroah-Hartman, who Torvalds appointed to oversee development of the kernel, has announced that he’s “handing the kernel tree” back to Torvalds in the announcement note for version 4.19. “These past few months has been a tough one for our community, as it is our community that is fighting from within itself, with prodding from others outside of it,” Kroah-Hartman wrote. “So here is my plea to everyone out there.Let’s take a day or two off, rest, relax with friends by sharing a meal, recharge, and then get back to work, to help continue to create a system that the world has never seen the likes of, together.”
Torvalds stepped back from the Linux community to rethink his treatment of other developers
While Torvalds has yet to release a statement of his own, ZDNet reports that he and Kroah-Hartman are both currently in Scotland meeting with Linux developers for the Open Source Summit Europe conference. Linux is an open source project, but Torvalds oversees the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) and he and Kroah-Hartman receive funding from the non-profit Linux Foundation to maintain kernel development and manage its community of contributors.
As part of Torvalds return to the Linux community, the Linux Foundation has officially instated its revised code of conduct that now subscribes to the principles of the more widely adopted and inclusive Contributor Covenant created by Coraline Ada Ehmke. Torvalds announced the new code of conduct in his initial note about stepping back, and the move created controversy in the Linux community for its stark departure from Torvalds’ prior “code of conflict” that treated no-filter feedback and bluntness as the natural and more successful state of open source software development.
The new code of conduct asks that contributors deliver criticism constructively and to accept such criticism mindfully, that people use inclusive language, and that members of the community be respectful of “differing viewpoints and experiences.” It also prohibits “sexualized language or imagery,” derogatory comments, personal or political attacks, and “public or private harassment.” Korah-Hartman described the thought process behind pushing for a more inclusive code of conduct in the 4.19 announcement:
And we all need to remember that, every year new people enter our community with the goal, or requirement, to get stuff done for their job, their hobby, or just because they want to help contribute to the tool that has taken over the world and enabled everyone to have a solid operating system base on which to build their dreams.
And when they come into our community, they don’t have the built-in knowledge of years of experience that thousands of us already do. Without that experience they make mistakes and fumble and have to learn how this all works.Part of learning how things work is dealing with the interaction between people, and trying to understand the basic social norms and goals that we all share.By providing a document in the kernel source tree that shows that all people, developers and maintainers alike, will be treated with respect and dignity while working together, we help to create a more welcome community to those newcomers, which our very future depends on if we all wish to see this project succeed at its goals.
It’s not clear whether the state of Linux development will suddenly become more accepting and positive, especially considering Torvalds was only gone for about one month. But with the new code of conduct in place, and Torvalds’ pledge to examine his actions and improve his behavior, it sounds like productive first steps are being made to revise the Linux community’s culture for the better.
As part of Torvalds return to the Linux community, the Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation (LF) is a non-profit organization established in 2000 to support Linux development and open-source software projects. The Linux Foundation. Predecessor. Open Source Development Labs. Free Standards Group.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Linux_Foundation
has officially instated its revised code of conduct that now subscribes to the principles of the more widely adopted and inclusive Contributor Covenant created by Coraline Ada Ehmke.
His PC used MS-DOS (the disk operating system from Microsoft Corp.), but Torvalds preferred the UNIX operating system he had used on the university's computers. He decided to create his own PC-based version of UNIX. Months of determined programming work yielded the beginnings of an operating system known as Linux.
If Linus Torvalds dies, will there still be Linux? The kernel would survive Linus's departure. This is something which is discussed regularly these days. Even if Linus decided to retire, Greg Kroah-Hartman would probably take the top seat (Greg is the only person other than Linus to have released a Linux kernel).
In the early nineties a commercial UNIX operating system for Intel 386 PCs was too expensive for private users. These factors and the lack of a widely adopted, free kernel provided the impetus for Torvalds' starting his project.
Inspired by Andrew Tanenbaum's Minix operating system (another free Unix for PCs—albeit a very simple one), Linux began as a class project in which Linus wanted to build a simple Unix system that could run on a 386-based PC.
It was originally conceived of and created as a hobby by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Linus, while at university, sought to create an alternative, free, open source version of the MINIX operating system, which was itself based on the principles and design of Unix.
Linus Torvalds thinks Java and C++ are horrible programming languages. So, which language does he recommend for programming? He prefers C over C++ for multiple reasons, and some of them are very valid.
So there you have it, yes, Linus does continue dogfooding the Linux kernel even during the very busy two week merge window periods where lots of new code (and bugs) are introduced.
Which version of Linux does Linus Torvalds use and why? Linus Torvalds uses Fedora Workstation on his 11" MacBook Air which is his primary driver. That said, he has also mentioned having used OpenSuse at some point of time. Also, he has complimented Ubuntu for making Debian accessible to the mass.
An avid programmer, Torvalds wrote the kernel of the Linux operating system at age 21 from his mother's apartment in Helsinki. As Wired magazine wrote in 2003, “He posted it on the Internet and invited other programmers to improve it.
Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system.
From a non-technical standpoint, the licensing issues for Linux vs. BSD were such that Apple would have had to release the source code — and allow it to be edited by people not employ…
Authority and trademark. As of 2006, approximately 2% of the Linux kernel was written by Torvalds himself. Despite the thousands who have contributed to it, his percentage is still one of the largest.
Linux has been criticized for a number of reasons, including lack of user-friendliness and having a steep learning curve, being inadequate for desktop use, lacking support for some hardware, having a relatively small games library, and lacking native versions of widely used applications.
This operating system is built upon the Linux kernel (the core of the operating system) which was first released in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a student from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Initially, Linux was only developed as a hobby and was not intended for widespread use.
Linux, computer operating system created in the early 1990s by Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds and the Free Software Foundation (FSF). While still a student at the University of Helsinki, Torvalds started developing Linux to create a system similar to MINIX, a UNIX operating system.
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