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Interview: Ask Linus Torvalds a Question
samzenpus writes: Linus Torvalds, the man behind the development of the Linux kernel, needs no introduction to Slashdot readers. Recently, we talked about his opinion on C++, and he talked about the future of Linux when he's gone. It's been a while since we sat down with Linus to ask him questions, so he's agreed to do it again and answer any you may have. Ask as many questions as you'd like, but please keep them to one per post.
When you've handed over the rei(g)ns for Linux, will there be other worlds worth conquering?
[Please say AI... Please!]
Why do you think its still near-impossible to buy a laptop with Linux preinstalled?
You've somehow managed to originate two insanely useful pieces of software: Linux, and Git.
Do you think there's anything in your work habits, your approach to choosing projects, etc., that have helped you achieve that level of productivity? Or is it just the traditional combination of talent, effort, and luck?
What are your thoughts on why it is that Linux doesn't have a higher adoption rate?
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Do you think Valve is capable of making Linux a primary choice for gamers?
Many people think you often come off as an asshole. Do you agree with this assessment? Is it more "in truth, I am an asshole" or more "I'm unfairly misinterpreted as an asshole"? What role do you think "being an asshole" (or acting in a way interpreted as being one) has in managing major projects?
Are you really Linux Torvalds?
Do you think Lennart Poettering is a malicious egotistical asshole, or just a misguided fool who starts things but never finishes them?
According to Thomas Gleixner, the future of the realtime patchset to Linux is in doubt [1], as it is difficult to secure funding from interested parties on this functionality even though it is both useful and important:
What are your thoughts on this, and what do you think we need to do to get more support behind the RT patchset, especially considering Linux's increasing use in embedded systems where realtime functionality is undoubtedly useful.
[1] https://lwn.net/Articles/604695/
Does it merely annoy you when people refer to you as "Linux Torvalds", or does it infuriate you?
Outside of the normal chips and cheese, what are your favorite 3 nacho toppings?
are you really Linux Torvalds?
So you've mentioned the Linux project should be fine should you choose to go. How long do think you'll be in the game for? Is this a hint that something is coming?
How many years away is it before we see wide scale adoption of Linux for desktops and why is it ALWAYS "next year!"?
Settle the debate once and for all, please. Which is the best solution?
Because no one wants Linux on a laptop.
The interface sucks, it's buggier than the latest Windows (7 on), commercial software doesn't work (games, office, specialist software- yes I know of WINE but that isn't installed out of the box on any distro I know of and doesn't always work anyway), too many choices (what distro? What DE?) people don't want to learn a new OS, hardware support (especially printers and WiFi) still sucks, battery life in Linux is atrocious (cuts life in half compared to windows), etc.
Sorry guys, but Windows 7 on (even 8) are miles ahead of the most user friendly distro (Mint, correct me if there's a better one out there).
systemd.....why?
If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
Do you use Liinus to improve the functioning of your digestive system?
What is your favorite sandwich?
You rants are often quite right and quite humorous, but when I read them, I wonder why you choose the style and language you do when communicating with others. I have not been the target of your rants (maybe will be now), so I take no personal offense, but in the company I work for and many others, communicating with someone with that language and that confrontational style would not be acceptable. I have communicated with other open source development teams and have found many members communicate in a similar fashion (not normally directed at me). My question is, have you considered toning it down?
I see your communication style and the similar style used by developers of other open source projects and I further wonder what the cause is? Is it because the individuals don't know each other, so they don't value each other? Is it because the communication is often read by many others and so they are just trying to impress the crowd?
What do you think?
Star Trek Original Series or The Next Generation?
Systemd: as bad as Hitler, or as bad as killing puppies?
Since you apparently still use just mail, text editor and git from command line for work, did we get graphical user interfaces completely wrong? Is there something fundamentally broken in GUI systems(or their design(ers))?
Given all the exploitable security issues which show up with drivers and other non-core components in the Linux kernel, do you think it would have been a good idea in hindsight to design Linux as a microkernel ?
In any decent microkernel design those security issues would be more likely to be confined to user space processes and would be less of a security problem.
Linux doesn't seem to rely on a cult of personality around Linus so much as it relies on the person Linus, whereas other projects like Python form a cult of personality around Guido van Rossum, or GNOME 3 forms a cult of personality around designer Allan Day, etc.
How did you cultivate Linux with your strong personality while avoiding a cult of personality, and how can other project leaders employ similar techniques to benefit their projects?
-=/\- Jizzbug -/\=-
If you were to build linux again, what would be the one most important thing you would do differently
Which (single) obstacle is the most important to overcome in order to achieve widespread Linux desktop usage?
Why have you been so passive and uncaring about the obvious Trojan Horse of systemd? No concern about the increasing domination by one company (Red Hat)? Seriously?
What project would you recommend to a younger version of yourself? How did you choose to work on Linux instead of other projects?
The most complex program running on a machine is arguably its OS, especially the kernel. Linux (kernel) reached the top level in terms of performance, reliability and versatility. You have been criticized quite a few times for some virulent mails addressed to developers. Do you think Linux would be where it is without managing the project with an iron fist? To go further, do you think some other main OSS project would beneficiate from a more rigorous management approach?
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
While historically you've been a C and Assembly guy (and the odd shell scripting and such), what do you think of functional languages such as Lisp, Closure, Haskell, etc? Do you see any advantages to them, or do you view them as frivolous and impractical?
If you decide to do so, thanks for taking the time to answer my question! You're a legend at what you do, and I think it's awesome that the significantly less interesting me can ask you a question like this.
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Windows LE (Linus Edition)
There wasn't a decent unix-like kernel, you wrote one which ultimately became the most used.
There wasn't a decent version control software, you wrote one which ultimately became the most love.
Do you think we already have a decent init system, or do you have plan to write one that will ultimately settle the world on that hot topic?
Video of some good progressive thrash music
The word "Socialist" is no longer a dirty one in the US and at least one presidential candidate is openly running under the label expecting nomination from a major party.
Your own country is one of those, that is part of humanity's unwitting experiment of the 20th century, when identical (or very similar) peoples lived under Socialism and Capitalism in parallel.
Would Linux have been created, had Finland fallen to the Red Army as Estonia did in 1940, and lived under USSR-imposed Socialism until the 1990-ies?.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Did your "fuck you" opinion on Nvidia changed lately? (and why)
Video of some good progressive thrash music
cat torvalds-says-linux.au > /dev/audio no longer works correctly with the latest Linux kernel.
( http://www.paul.sladen.org/pro... for whoever wanders )
Also we would not mind of a re-shot of the 1990 "beer" photos :)
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Mr. Torvalds,
For many uses of Linux such as on the desktop, other software beyond the kernel and the base GNU tools are required. What other projects would you like to see given priority, and what would you like to see implemented or improved?
Admittedly I thought most about X-Windows when asking this question; but I don't doubt that other daemons or systems can be just as important to the user experience.
Thank you for your efforts all these years.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
What big new feature or driver do you want to see added to Linux next?
Is it true that you sleep with nunchucks?
With the removal of very old hardware support, and the reduction in the number of interfaces - we're really down to SATA, USB, and HDMI - do you see the size of the kernel starting to go down in a significant way at some point?
How's the (lack of) sex life?
During the early days of Linux, UMSDOSfs was a quite useful tool, being able to superimpose UNIX file names and ACLs on top of a vanilla FAT filesystem.
With devices that might need to restrict access, but still require FAT32 because of interoperability concerns, would a variant of UMSDOS that works on this filesystem ever be feasible? Take Android for instance. The only way to keep app "A" and app "B" separated when they are granted access to an external SD card is by using SELinux rules (which the default pretty much denies access.) Having the ability to enforce permissions while still preserving interoperability of SD cards would be very useful.
If you could magically fix one thing about modern computer hardware, what would it be?
Linus,
If you were pressed against a wall and absolutely forced to name an operating environment that has potential to succeed today's Linux systems in terms of adaptability, flexibility, and popularity -- what project(s) would you name? Alternatively, if you cannot think of anything that is presently deprecated, in development, or in production... would you be able to articulate a broad set of standards that may facilitate the creation of a viable competitor?
The question is as broad-based as it sounds, with the only answer I'd consider invalid being "Linux forever!" :). You could approach this from the perspective of licensing, hardware driving new solutions, kernal architecture, all of the above, or however you feel the question would be best answered. I'm keen to hear your views on what the Next Big Thing might be, even if it could only exist in an alternate universe.
Thanks!
Especially now that Steam is on Linux, are there any big cool games that you play or at least have tried?
Linus, why did you let systemd happen?
Why didn't you do more to stop it, especially when it was clear it was going to be an epic disaster?
What do you think about the "anykernel" concept (invented by another Finn btw) used in NetBSD? Basically, they have modularized the code so that a driver can be built either in a monolithic kernel or for user space without source code changes ( rumpkernel.org ). The drivers are highly portable and used in Genode os (L4 type kernels), minix etc... Would this be possible or desirable for Linux? Apparently there is one attempt called "libos"...
If it's hard for a new user of Git to come to know what he is doing, then perhaps some abstraction needs to be created around Git that's easier for the average new user to understand.
What do you think?
Linus as Kevin Flynn
Lennart Poettering as the MCP
Greg Kroah-Hartman as Clue
Kay Sievers as Sark
RMS as Dumont
Matthew Garrett as Guard #2
etc.
Android apps run on Linux.
Kernels!
Now that minix has seen some proper development and its latest versions have a useful amount of netbsd packages, where would you like to see it in a few years? Do you consider it an old friend or foe and what do you think its targets should be? And finally, if, in the long run, minix proves to be THE better option for everything, will you turn into an old grumpy fart or do you see yourself as somebody who could possibly even contribute code?
Linus,
what is currently missing in your opinion to see Linux succeed in the mobile space as Linux (vs Android)?
I don't have a question for Linus Torvalds, but I do have a story about asking Linus Torvalds a question. Back when I first started using Linux in 1995, I couldn't get the 'top' utility to run after a kernel update. I was only a kid at the time, and for whatever reason I figured the best approach was to just email Linus Torvalds himself to ask how to fix it. Little did I realize that would have been like emailing Bill Gates for help because a driver didn't install correctly on Windows. Surprisingly, Linus wrote back and explained that I needed to update my version of procps (or whatever it was called at the time). Linus, if you are reading this comment, I'd like to say thanks again for the tech support. ;^)
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
Have you ever dabbled with Functional programming languages? If so, what are your thoughts about the paradigm (in general, or WRT systems programming)?
Thanks!
Now that you had the opportunity to code some C++ in your dive log program, have your view on the language changed?
It's no secret that Microsoft has been contributing to the Linux kernel as of late (mostly for compatibility with their own products, but still). Do you ever envision a world where "the enemy" really becomes a useful partner in helping improve Linux?
In the 20th century, humanity took a transformational step forward when it "went interplanetary". This impacted billions of lives and changed everyone's perspective about our role in the universe.
A lot of bad stuff happened, too -- weaponization of nuclear energy; oppressive governments; new tools like computers being twisted to serve repressive governments rather than the common man; continual and destructive wars; accelerating destruction of the environment and natural resources; etc.
If there's one objective -- one imperative with a positive end-goal that will transform humanity, or at least the way we think about ourselves, in a good way -- that the current and next generation should focus on, what objective do you think that should be?
In short, what should be our next moonshot as a global society? I say global because I believe any objective worth achieving at this scale cannot be accomplished even by a small cadre of very powerful advanced industrial nations. We would need truly global support for any initiative on the scale I'm talking about.
You post publicly on both Google+ and the LKML. Some of your posts get a lot of attention on G+ like naming the next version 3.20 or 4.0, which is a different audience than the Linux Kernel mailing list.
What do you like and dislike about communicating on either platform, Google+ or the LKML? How do you feel about their respective audiences? Do you enjoy the tools you use to participate in public discussions on Google+ and the LKML?
Several years ago, you were employed by Transmeta designing the Crusoe processor. I understand you are quite knowledgeable about cpu architecture. What are your thoughts on the Current Intel and AMD x86 CPUs particularly in comparison with ARM and IBM's Power8 CPUs? Where do you see the advantages of each one?
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
Linus - My observation is that folks who're blindingly successful have a degree of asshole-ness to them. Jobs, Gates, Musk, Torvalds. Probably the US founding fathers, and Einstein and Edison. All the right degree of 'f em, I know what needs to be done.' Is that a correct assessment of you? do you have an external face, and one that is the more real you, or are you an asshole through and through?
Mr Linus, your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?
Thank you, no question, but my life path, and many of the people here have been altered by the appearance of an operating system which can be trusted and has a development focused towards operation. Across the world this event has leaked into so many lives in so many ways. Again, thank you.
Aside from adding drivers and refactoring algorithms when performance limits are discovered, is there anything left for the kernel?
Maybe it's a failure of tech journalism but we never hear about the next big thing in kernel land anymore.
Since you have become a naturalized U.S. Citizen, you must like living in America. What do you miss about Finland? What are some thing the U.S. does better than Finland?
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
Are you a communist?
Would you accept a job as a junior developer at Microsoft to work on their Linux apps?
Once you decide to "retire", who/what would you like to see continue the development and guidance of the kernel?
I am in the possess of learning c because I enjoy electronics and microcontrollers. What tips do you have for someone like me ? What mistakes do you see other programmers make?
Linus - Awesome Work!! You may or may not have heard it enough, but Thank You!
- Linux user / sw developer since 1992 -
Which year do you think will be the official year of Linux on the Desktop?
What cool things about OS X do you prefer compared to Linux?
What prevented Linux from being written entirely in Assembly?
Don't you ever feel a bit burnt out after working on that same one big project for so many years, and if you had a perfect opportunity to retire right now with little drama, would you take it?
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jack Tramiel, Larry Ellison
When you first created Linux, Windows was still primitive particularly in security and stability.
But since then, and especially since Vista and 7, it has really matured in both security and stability, so...
Why don't you use Windows?
And if you are unhappy about some things, why not help Microsoft to improve it and steer them in the right direction?
What are your thoughts on Christoph Hellwig's lawsuit against VMware for failing to comply with the terms of the GPLv2?
https://sfconservancy.org/news/2015/mar/05/vmware-lawsuit/
Hi Linus!
So I've read you live somewhere near Portland, and as shocking as it is to consider you amongst the flesh-and-blood mortals that I might encounter in this life, I believe I might just be able to keep from frothing and gibbering were it to happen. No promises. But in any case I'd be nice to know if there were any social or tech events in the area that you might attend. Also, breaking the rules about multiple questions, but possibly relevant to the above: what sort of beer do you drink?
- J. Random Linuxuser
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
Do you think that linux is over-bloated?
Will there be anything next as big as Linux in your "compsci" future?
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
What do you like/dislike about Android? Do you use Android phones and/or tablets? If you were creating an OS for mobile devices, what would you differently (as opposed to Google and/or Apple)?
retrospectively thinking, knowing all you've been through, would you still do all taht you did?
I know I'll put all the /. community on my back saying this, but for more than one generation you are a genius, an idol. You also have some insight we don't. So, from that point on, does-it all still matters? Is the pain rewarded?
Thanks.
What research in the field do you find intriguing?
Retrospectively thinking, knowing all you've been through, would you still do all you did?
I know I'll put all the /. community on my back saying this, but for more than one generation you are a genius, an idol. You also have some insight we don't. So, from that point on, does-it all still matters? Is the pain rewarded?
Thanks.
Obviously, you use Linux every day. What distribution do you use? Do you have a preferred desktop environment or window manager? A preferred text editor?
...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
Your Usenet post describing the first public version of the Linux kernel compared and contrasted it with GNU, which itself was designed to be very Unix-like. Did you have a "final vision" for Linux in your head in the early days? I mean that as, did you see Linux getting to be a suitable Unix replacement that was still very Unix-like and then stopping, or did you have some sort of vision of a radically different operating system built on top of your kernel?
...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
I wonder what Mr. Torvalds will do when it comes to light that some web server somewhere is hosting a website that has a Confederate Flag .jpg on it..
What do you really think about systemd?
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
How do you stay up to date with tech news? Do you read Slashdot on a regular basis, or where else do you get your news from?
what distro do you currently use?
Why are you such an asshole?
What will it take for an open source hardware industry to really take root? I'm talking about laptops, too.
I must said that I like your straight management style. (But, honestly, I don't know how I feel if I was in these situations, imagine, you are yelling at me (lol). All I know are from pros and cons developers at kernel mails list). So...
1. Do you really comfortable with your style? Say, you would sleep well at night after "correcting" a senior developer? (lol)
2. Everybody is not perfect. Have you ever had mistake (critical one)? If you have, did anyone yell at you (to criticize your work, not your personality) (your wife, your teacher, or co-developers)? And how did you feel about it at this time?
3. Have you ever criticize developer that is your friend?
Some computer experts like Marvin Minsky, Larry Page, Ray Kuzweil think A.I. will be a great gift to Mankind. Others like Bill Joy and Elon Musk are fearful of potential danger. Where do you stand, Linus?
What do you think of the newer computer languages ?
Rust, Swift,Go,Haskell,D,etc
Keep up the good work, the world needs fewer meglomaniacs building evil empires.
P.S. What do think of the idea of a VM sandbox safe area to run a systems internet facing programs in ?
This would be to limit malware/virus/etc access.
This is my opinion based on what little I know and understand of the rumors and lies Thanks, Randal
Do you use or at any point have used a Macbook for either personal or work related stuff? If yes did you use linux or MacOS
Linus, which advices do you have for an aspiring Devops? Thanks!
For desktop, many users find out that copy files (large files, bunch of tiny files at one, constantly read/write on HDD) could slow down the computer, eventually unusable.
Do you think this could be improved/fixed?
Hello Linus,
So many people have complained about your occasional mean language that surely you have had time to contemplate whether it's just you or practice there is something a larger trend within this industry that causes many software engineers to be rude.
In my personal experience, I do not think it's just you. working in Silicon Valley and interviewing in the Valley and elsewhere, I have found that there is something more than just rudeness that has become the status quo. It seems that everyone knows they don't know everything, but they feel compelled to pretend they do for career purposes, and that they have the best opinions, and that others know nothing and had bad opinions.
Is it possible in your view that engineers suffer from feelings of incompetence or ignorance and that they project that onto other people in a rude, competitive way? Is it possible also that there is a narcissistic component of this, because society has told programmers that they are super-smart, and super capable, even though typically neither is the case?
I am reminded of Socrates, who said: I am wise because I know I don't know. But I don't see a lot of that kind of wisdom in the industry these days. Related: Is CS a science
he answered that question at the Debian conference last year.
Because no one wants Linux on a laptop.
I do. I think anyone who uses a computer would like a portable version of such a computer.
The interface sucks
I'm happy with WindowMaker, it's very friendly to small displays and trackpad and hotkey navigation.
it's buggier than the latest Windows
Can I count broken standards as bugs? That will even up the score significantly.
Any thoughts about this ? Does it have any chance to bring (hardware) reconfigurable computing to the masses ? In principle, FPGAs can be made into general purpose coprocessors but, in practice, they remain mostly within their own niche, quite well isolated from the mainstream programming. One of the reasons seems to be apparent cultural differences between programming and hardware design worlds. Will acquisition of Altera by Intel somehow result in bringing these two closer ?
I could say that every countries have nice people, beautiful things. (I don't like to start something like flame-war) But I would know:
Which country you would like to live most?
What is inferior/superior things in life/education/technical environment between Finland and U.S.A?
Don't know if you keep up with slashdot at all, but what do you think of the changes since Dice Holdings took over?
Linux has now become the most popular operating system in the world through Android. Yet the fact that binary drivers are somehow allowed, makes it impossible for users to upgrade their systems and create cyanogenmod-like alternatives. Is it not time to change the stance with respect to binary drivers, or to give a timeframe to device makers for how much longer this will be allowed? Nvidia is moving slowly into the right direction now, but in the ARM arch, it remains a mess. HW manufacturers aren't interested in the IP on their device drivers, nor are smartphone vendors interested in maintaining and providing software updates. Can't this be a win-win opportunity for everybody involved, and shouldn't it start with some kind of timeframe like: 'Linux will no longer allow binary drivers from mid 2016'?
I recently read on Wikipedia that you have written your own editor in the early days of Linux development. I would like to know more about this editor. Is it publicly released? What is it named? Does it resemble any of the currently popular editors?
Hi Linus,
ARM has demonstrated that Big-Little pairings of 64- and 32-bit CPUs helps to save power.
For the non-ARM side of the industry, is there any point in pairing a slow, low-power MIPS processor, serving as the bootstrap processor, with a fast, high-wattage x86 processor serving as the application processor?
Can the kernel handle that pairing of two processors with different instruction set architectures running side by side and if so, how?
How maths affects your file as developer? (I'm not talking about logical thinking of mathematic but the real knowledge you learned from maths that apply to your programming).
Hi Linus
There has been a lot of discussion around the integration of KDBus, which in turn got its ideas from DBus which in turn got its ideas from DCOP.
The best thing from DBus (IMHO) was that Gnome and KDE agreed on using the same IPC mechanism. Both camps settled on DBus after using CORBA implementations. The corrsponding KDE release was even named "Kanossa" if i remember correctly. I would really like to know what your take on the concepts
on DBus is (from the above perspective)?
Best regards
Tim
Hi Linus
With kdbus possibly on its way into the kernel, i would like to know if you could envision a unified kernel event interface?
Like e.g. merging udev events with signals on kdbus?
Best regards
Tim
Did you ever check out Microsoft Research's Singularity OS, which implemented a new OS kernel from scratch in a dialect of C#. It has no traditional processes and relies on software/compiler enforced isolation instead of VMM/page tables. It has some other rather interesting ideas in it too, like contract based IPC channels. Relatedly, there was some work done a while ago to allow better integration between garbage collected heaps and the kernel swap system (bookmarking collectors), but the patches were never merged. Do you have any thoughts on how Linux could better support non-C/C++ based software in this way?
Why didn't Google package a reasonable update agent within Android, and is this having a deleterious effect upon other Linux markets?
Would it have been possible for Google to deploy an updatable kernel with proprietary vendor modules? If so, why did they not do this?
I am still able to use towelroot to take control of several brands of Android phones (as can any app I load - silently). Should pressure and pain be brought to bear, or should we let Google continue to bring Windows 95-era security to Linux?
Or, should Cyanogen-Microsoft fork AOSP?
Do you still do any hobby programming or does writing Linux suffice to scratch that itch?
As much as ZFS is stuck behind Oracle and CDDL, wouldn't it be nice to have a filesystem that is more robust than EXT, and a RAID system better than mdadm?
Buck Feta. You know what to do.
After 20 years of your debate with Andrew Tanenbaum about kernel architectures, what are your thoughts about such debate ?
A second question of mine. There used to be many different varieties of chips that were commonly used (SPARC, Power, RISC, etc.), and nowadays there;s mostly two (x86 and ARM). You've worked on the kernel for many, many years, and I understand that you once had a job related to working with them. So, I ask you this: did you have a favorite architecture that wasn't x86? Did you ever see any advantages working with these other chips? And, do you think it would be better if today's market had a wider variety of commonly used chip architectures?
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Can you explain, in detail, why you hate Java so much? I need some ammo to use when arguing with Java developers.
What do you think about new "system languages" like Go and Rust? Are they OK in your opinion, or do they suck as much as C++?
What is your opinion of micro kernels such as QNX? Did you consider this sort of architecture when you started Linux and do you think they have any useful advantages in real world applications?
Which company would you rather work for? Microsoft or Apple.
Linus, how do you think will the world look in 50 years, what is your prediction. Politically, economically, ecologically, technically, etc ...
What do you really think about systemd?
He has answered that many times. I want a slight variation.
Last year he gave several mentions about it to several key groups. He expressed that "I don't actually have any particularly strong opinions on systemd itself. I've had issues with some of the core developers that I think are much too cavalier about bugs and compatibility, and I think some of the design details are insane, but those are details, not big issues".
He's mentioned in several interviews that he has needed to deal with fallout from the system, deal with major bugs in it. He's also had some very public, verbally brutal interactions with key members of the team. But those are less relevant from the technical side. Systemd developers are attempting to correct what they believe are defects or missing functionality.
My variant would be: How has systemd's expansion affected your work on Linux? More specifically, over time the needs of systems change and drift, and core features need to adapt. What features of systemd have you considered as features missing from the kernel that should be incorporated, or as missing features that should be incorporated into system libraries?
Windows has had similar infighting over the years where the Shell folks were implementing all kinds of useful and interesting functionality that really had little to do with the shell: path functions that should be in the storage libraries, notifications that should go through kernel, numeric validations that belonged in the core, and so on. It is always a balance to decide what belongs as core features versus what belongs in side libraries. Systems evolve over time: How much driver support should be in the kernel? (Different OSes have different theories.) How much networking support should be in the kernel? (Decades ago the answer was usually "none", now it is heavily supported.) What security aspects belong in the kernel? (This used to be largely ignored, today it is an ever-growing concern.) Over time the balance changes.
I think part of the systemd concerns are that they implement many features which -- within Linux's two decades -- have transitioned from being minor external tasks into becoming universal system requirements. The boundaries change. I'd like to know how Linus is working with (or against) the inevitable winds of change.
//TODO: Think of witty sig statement
It seems like NVIDIA have decided to become more "open" as of late releasing various pieces of documentation and header files as well as NVIDIA guys participating in the Nouveau mailing list. They are also working on the best way to make the firmware for their cards available for the Nouveau developers to use and distribute.
Do you see this as a sign that NVIDIA have genuinely changed their attitude towards Open Source or do you think this is just the actions of a company desperate to get more companies to use their Tegra SOCs?
It was discussed at a conference recently that there was concern the kernel was too big for a lot of possible IoT applications, this may eventually hurt Linux's future in this area. Some people were looking at optimising the kernel to make it a lot smaller, but they had limited resources. Any thoughts on optimising the kernel for these very small IoT applications before a new pretender OS may appear to challenge Linux in this?
What are your thoughts on apple's GrandCentral? It seems that a central kernel managed queuing system would be less overhead than having 10 apps each launching 10x num-cpu's threads and all over-subscribing.
-Michael
Is there any inspiration that a GPU based kernel / scheduler has for you? How might Linux be improved to better take advantage of GPU-type batch execution models. Given that you worked transmeta and JIT compiled host-targetted runtimes. GPUs 1,000-thread schedulers seem like the next great paradigm for the exact type of machines that Linux does best on.
-Michael
Have you ever considered a network-transparent OS-layer? If not why? I once saw QNX and and how the command line made little differentiation of which server you were physically on. (run X on node 3, ps (across all nodes)). You ran commands pretty much on any node of consequence.. I've ALWAYS wanted this capability in Linux... cluster-ssh is about as close as I've ever gotten. These days hadoop/storm/etc give a half-assed approximation.
-Michael
Is C your favorite language? Given your ability to invent your way out of frustration, I find it hard to believe C hasn't frustrated you into innovation.. So many languages were created for that very reason. Perl, python, dart, go, rust, etc.
-Michael
How do you deal with hot heads? You are bound to have interacted with some of the most self-important, bombastic, difficult people on earth in your days. Do you have any advice how you've managed to keep your cool?
-Michael
What is your opinion of BSD and the OS-X stack? Ever use them? Do you envy and of their attributes?
-Michael
Nothing is useful forever and every technology will eventually be phased out in favor of something better. What, in your opinion, will cause Linux kernel in its present form to be phased out in favor of something different, such as Hurd or whatever OS used to control quantum computers?
What is your preference for package management? E.g. for a new library, which flavor do you reach for? rpm? tgz? deb? git-clone? home-brew?
-Michael
Git is an excellent system, but is less efficient for large files. This makes certain work-flows difficult to put into a git-repository. i.e. storing compiled binaries, or when having non-trivial test-data-sets. Given the 'cloud', do you forsee a version of git that uses 'web-resources' as SHA-able entities, to mitigate the proliferation of pack-file copies of said large files. Otherwise, do you have any thoughts / strategy for how to deal with large files?
-Michael
From a user's perspective there's the applications and there's the rest, whether it's done in the kernel or in user mode is not really apparent or important, things like drivers, system daemons, windowing systems, graphics/multimedia and so on. Sometimes it's a division of labor, like pulseaudio with ALSA in the kernel or mesa with KMS in the kernel. While I know you're a practically oriented person, is there any parts where you feel that:
a) Really shouldn't be done in the kernel, but in practice we do
b) Really should be done in the kernel, but in practice we don't
c) Doesn't belong in the kernel, but if you had the time you'd like to change/improve.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
given the attitude and arrogance you so often put on display?
What is your opinion about their software? Forget about about money, and marketshare. I'm talking about empty software, recently intalled, with no user data.
The Android community is an absolute disorienting cesspool of random stuff flying around. Links to patches and roms are distributed in a seemingly random manner on a host of different more or less dubious file sharing services, making it fairly difficult to find something actually usable for your phone. Do you see any way to fix this situation in the future, making it easier to patch/update your phone?
-- Linux user #369862
What do you think of Erlang? What can the kernel learn from the Erlang VM? What can Erlang learn from Linux?
No one? Really?
I switched this year to an all-linux environment. Previously, I mainly used Cygwin and VirtualBox on Windows to carry out development and local administration of web projects. There were always issues with things like file permissions and line endings along with the mental overhead of working across two separate OS. As I was already experienced with Linux, switching to Ubuntu on a new 5th gen i5 / 8GB was a breeze. It was a great relief to move into a homogeneous environment and as I fleshed out my software stack the advantages just became more and more apparent.
But there have been issues and they weren't always straightforward to solve, requiring much command line work to figure out. There's an annoying bug that causes system fonts to render corrupt occasionally. I don't get much joy out of the Bluetooth. If I was a new user I would probably have been frustrated and would have had to install Windows. So much of your comment is very valid. It does require a certain level of expertise to ride out the issues and arrive at a fully functional system.
I understand that Linux is a trademark registered to you, with day to day management performed through the Linux Mark Institute . What future do you see for the Linux trademark once you are done with it, so to speak? Do you have an appointed successor, for example?
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Have you ever been the recipient of a NSA letter and how did you react. In addition, has the government ever approached you and asked you to add a backdoor or compromise the kernel? Did you? And, if not, would you if they did?
Assuming the "Internet of things" is not just a hollow buzzword, do you see Linux dominating IoT's projected explosive growth, forever entrenching Linux as the #1 choice for embedded eons to come?
PS: To me, IoT just represents embedded stuff that connects to the internet in trendy ways marketers haven't over-saturated yet with hip commercials and cheap-labor produced widgets.. "things" sells better to the unwashed, so meh
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
Do you feel threatened (or targeted) by the recently irruption of codes of conduct and tone policy coming from mayor players at the free software arene like Gnome, Red Hat and GO. Must we expect a similar shift towards political correctness and censoring in Linux Foundation and kernel dev?
Hi Linus,
Thanks for all your work though these years, both on linux and on git.
What the fuck is up with systemd? I understand it's user space so it's not really your problem, but it would really be nice if you used your benevolent dictator super powers to at least denounce it's shittyness, i mean i remember a few instances of you tore people a new asshole for being mediocre (nvidia,gmail,svn), why not this? It's one of these cases where the solution is way worse than the problem.., and it's not going away.
Please please please make it go away....
Anyways, keep kicking ass and thanks for everything.
Whatever happened to your Granddad's VIC-20, and what was your high score on Avenger? Radar Rat Race?
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
Looking around there are basically two operating systems (Linux/Unix and Windows) that hold much interest in the marketplace or in mind-share. Unix is over 40. Linux and Windows are both over 20 years old. Most hardware vendors are focused on building better boxes to run Linux or Windows based on one processor architecture. Some operating systems died because they were tightly tied to their hardware (like the PDP based operating systems), others seem to be holding on to dear life because their customers seem trapped. I think of other technologies, like automobile engines, where there was an initial flurry of innovation (including steam and electric), but for around 100 years you had your choice of gasoline or diesel. Are we done with major operating system innovation? Is it now going to be about a slightly better scheduler or maybe a better filesystem? Are the days of a company putting out a new operating system and a novel hardware platform dead?
Leave the gun, take the cannoli -- Clemenza, The Godfather
Will work that OS's do change much in future you think?
Will their core work still be interfacing filesystems, networking, processes and accounts to the underlying tin?
Will some UI-type tasks typically carried out by applications shift the OS? (UI: voice/video/gaze/gesture recognition... user information management: social feeds, messages... environment management: ... malware detection) Will there be real-time requirements?
I was reading that in your student days you were using the Sinclair QL. Were the original Linux development work on QL? Or just MINIX. Thank you
No, I prefer it before he had an Americanised accent, thanks.
Ok, I only have a small question: emacs or vi?
Who's your favorite pony?
Are you pro-USA?
(No, I do not mean to ask if you like the movies, the people, the food, nor any personal experience by living there.)
How has a lifetime of software engineering treated you - are you generally a happy guy these days?
Do you blaze it? Legalize it?
What would it take to use clang instead of gcc in the Linux kernel?
Is the current source based model scalable or does Linux need a kernel api with a hard "Don't break kernel api" requirement.
Dear Mr. Torvalds, What is your opinion on manual voting vs electronic voting in the context on national elections? Can electronic voting be safe when most people participating in these elections (including politicians, businessmen & reporters) do not understand the technology behind it and the masses follow what politicians, businessmen & reporters say?
Do you have a solution for Android devices that still use Linux 3.4?
Most devices (all) use closed source drivers, often in quite grey area, legally wise. Linux is maybe about freedom for the user, but most Android users will never see updated kernels and updated Android versions.
You could point the finger at Google, or the OEM's, and you might :). But isn't this also because of the practical vision, instead of the ideological vision of people like RMS? That practical approach seems to bite Linux here in the bottom.
How do you feel about that?
Well, don't worry about that. We can get you back before you leave. (Dr. Who)
You glance sideways at an organisation, and inwardly sigh. Why? Is there a common pattern? (A very open question; we might get surprise answers)
Why dont you make life easier for driver writers and users by only changing the API & ABI for kernel modules between major versions?
New abstraction at a well-chosen part of a stack may result in better general functionality, but there's a risk that the calling code then becomes less readable, takes more skill to write, or takes a performance hit. Do you have a good example of how you decided a case for abstraction?
Why are you letting retarded pieces of shit invade the Linux kernel (kdbus), is Red Hat forcing you into a shit position?
I've tried to get myself around to learning C++ since the early 90ies and really never made it just yet. I find your comments on C++ interesting and wouldn't be suprised if they had a grain of truth, if not more. To be honest, I've been second-guessing my C++ ambitions since I've read your comments on it.
Which brings me to my question:
I know you're a plain-ol C guy, but do you see a point in recent attempts to build a new Systems language, particularly the Go project from Google and the Rust project from Mozilla? Do you think this is just a fad or do these projects have potential? Are they adressing real problems and doing something useful or are they just a waste of time in your opinion?
And if you would differntiate, what do you think in particular about Go and what about Rust?
Can you picture yourself using a different language than C for programming a thing such as Linux or Git?
That's more than one question, but since they're related, I believe you can answer them in one reply.
All that aside:
Thank you very much for your and the Kernel teams great contribution to society. Very much appreciated. Your straight-forward approach to things at times serves as a concrete role model for me in my daily work as an IT person.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
If you suddenly had a few billion dollars at your hand that you specifically had to put to use for developing an open source hardware architecture and producing the first line of hardware, how would that look like? How would it differ from x86, PPC or other system architectures you've come accross? What's most annoying to you about existing architectures you've come accross, that you would like to change?
Any features you'd like to combine in one, perhaps?
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
What is the worst thing that could happen if you were nice to people, even when they screwed up?
Is it true that you will soon be allowing D code in the kernel?
I know you want "the desktop", so with Windows reduced to giving away their OS but still pissing people off the way their handling the upgrade to 10, do you think Linux can beat them back to a minority?
What advice would you give Elon Musk?
You're known for being very opinionated and sure of yourself, quick to criticize mistakes made by others.
To the average Joe, this produces an aura of seeming infallibility.
It's good to be right, but statistically one has to be wrong every so often.
Programming-wise, what's the dumbest thing you've ever done?
What you want to be in your next life?
Casteism
Wouldn't it be better for you and humanity if you closed source Linux as the GPL is dead?
Do you have a message on here for the trolls who are trolling you with questions?
What's your favorite Taylor Swift song? Go on, don't be shy.
Hi Linus! Greetings from a fan of yours. One of the main reasons for not having a Linux version of many apps is the lack of any common distributable format for Linux. App vendors certainly feel discomfort to provide hundreds of versions for different distributions. Do you have any comment on that? How can we encourage companies/vendors more to distribute their apps for Linux?
Do you feel that living in Portland and accepting money from the State of Oregon introduces politics into the kernel development process which would not otherwise be there?
Hey bro, how's it hangin'? Did you ever see the video where Richard Stallman was eating his toejam? If so, what did you think of it? Or to put it another way, if you had mod points on /. and someone posted it, would you moderate it as:
1) Underrated
2) Off-Topic
3) Funny
4) Arousing
5) Insightful
6) Interesting
Hello Linus,
I am curious on what your uncensored thoughts are on SystemD. If you can not, or choose not to give your uncensored view, would you at least share why you will not give us your uncensored view?
Thank you.
Dave
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
Typo: "or practice there is" should be "or perhaps there is"
ALL TYPOS FIXED: People have complained about your occasional mean language. Surely you contemplated whether it's just you or perhaps there's a larger trend within this industry causing programmers to be jerks. In my experience, I don't think it's just you. Working in Silicon Valley and interviewing in the Valley, I've found there is more than just rudeness. It seems everyone knows they don't know it all, but they're compelled to pretend they do for career purposes, and to be competitive jerks about it. It is worst with iOS programmers. They belong to a cult. I ask you: Is it possible in your opinion that engineers suffer from feelings of incompetence and ignorance that they project onto other people to be rude & competitive? Is it possible also that there is a narcissistic component underpinning this, because society has stupidly told programmers they are super-geniuses and super-capable, even though typically they're neither? I'm reminded of Socrates, who said: I am wise because I know I don't know. But I don't see a lot of that kind of wisdom in the industry these days. I observe that people like the ones who killed Socrates are dominating this industry.
Do you have any interesting hobbies? For instance, basket weaving or falconry?
Warlord Tech Job Problem...
#/home/ dollars.txt
-Z3R0
There's actually a super elegant way to give you precise control on which Terminal window is frontmost in OS X.
Open up the Preferences panel in the Terminal app, click on the "Settings" icon at the very top, and then the "Window" tab. Enable the "Command key" option.
Now, you can switch between specific Terminal windows. Apple-1 brings the first window foremost. Apple-2 brings the second, and so on.
I don't know how well this works for your use cases, but I've found it incredibly convenient.
I recently saw a neat presentation by Leslie Lamport on formal verification for writing code, where he advocated creating formal input/output requirements for anything moderately complicated. Others, such as Jonathan Blow, claim documentation is outdated as soon as it is written. Clearly the two work in different industries, but I am curious where you stand on this. Have you found that certain approaches are indispensable in certain contexts?