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Linux 4.15 Becomes Slowest Release Since 2011 (theregister.co.uk)

Posted by msmash on from the no-rush dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Linus Torvalds has decided that Linux 4.15 needs a ninth release candidate, making it the first kernel release to need that much work since 2011. Torvalds flagged up the possibility of an extra release candidate last week, with the caveat that "it obviously requires this upcoming week to not come with any huge surprises" after "all the Meltdown and Spectre hoopla" made his job rather more complicated in recent weeks. Fast-forward another week and Torvalds has announced "I really really wanted to just release 4.15 today, but things haven't calmed down enough for me to feel comfy about it."

9 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. In more ways than one? by subk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Let's hope it doesn't also run slower than it did in 2011

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    1. Re:In more ways than one? by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do you remember the move from 2.4 to 2.6? 2.6 all of a sudden made those "light" linux distros for old computers unusable in a large amount of cases.

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  2. Easy fix by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obviously if Linus adopted an Agile strategy this wouldn't be an issue. He just needs to setup some sprints and things will work out.

    1. Re:Easy fix by freeze128 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Imagine how Linux Kernel development will progress once Linus steps down. He isn't going to live forever, you know. I doubt that his replacement would be as tenacious.

    2. Re:Easy fix by 110010001000 · · Score: 4, Funny

      He could be replaced by a seasoned Certified Scrum Master (SCM). You just have to make the SCM is Certified by http://www.scrumalliance.org./ Otherwise it will just be some crazy process nut who is more concerned about the process than the final product. You might think that anyone can write and release software, but you really need to be certified. You just can't have uncertified regular people releasing software! That would be insane!

  3. Im sure Intel isnt helping. by nimbius · · Score: 3, Informative

    Linus himself had to pull a hard stop and publicly excoriate Intel for their absolute non-fix of the Meltdown issue, so thats certainly not helping the 4.15 release. https://linux.slashdot.org/sto...

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  4. Get it right the first time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I prefer Linus's "try to get it right the first time" approach to releases versus the, unfortunately, too common "get it out the door as quickly as possible, we'll fix it later" approach employed by seemingly almost everyone else. (I'm looking directly at you, Microsoft. And Apple's getting a bit of stink-eye, too, given the flurry of patches for the dodgy current macOS and iOS versions.)

  5. Title is misleading; slowest PROCESS since 2011 by Khopesh · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is the slowest Linux kernel release process, not the slowest kernel itself.

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  6. Good! by GerryGilmore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I, for one, am glad to see that someone is taking a more measured, thoroughly tested approach rather than the usual "OMG! Quick - flash new BIOSes, gimme new CPUs, install the latest kernel patches regardless of testing...." approach that has characterized the approach from "the technical community" so far.