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Although some may think that its use is not very widespread, Linux is present in many more places than meets the eye: Internet servers, super-computers, desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices, smartphones, appliances, airplanes and even medical equipment.
If you thought you've never used Linux technology, it's time to look around you and you will be surprised how far the scope of this free operating system has reached. |
More than 20 years ago Linus Torvals started a personal project that contained 10.000 lines of code. Currently, the Linux kernel contains nothing more and nothing less than 3.5 million lines of code, which shows the degree of development that it has reached. To date, some 8.000 developers have contributed to the project, of which 1.000 developers have joined in the last year with an average of one patch included in the kernel for every 3 developers who have participated in the project.
The Linux Foundation has published a report that shows the good health of the project and your activity in the last year And to accompany the document, they have published an interesting introductory video that helps to understand a little better how the project works.
An interesting piece of information, especially to dispel old myths, is the active participation of companies in the development of Linux (the 3.2 kernel in which 226 companies participated as an example), among which are Red Hat, Novell, Intel, IBM , Oracle, Nokia, Google, HP, Cisco, Fujitsu, Samsung or Microsoft. Microsoft? Well yes, although it may surprise many, those from Redmond occupy the 17th place of companies that have contributed the most to the development of Linux (with 688 contributions during the last year).
The collaborative kernel development model that practically works as a factory that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week allows development to be fast and the kernel evolves at an average rate of 70 days for each version, a rate that other operating systems can hardly reach.
In closing, this report highlights that approximately 75% of contributions come from people who are paid to do so. This debunks the myth that Linux is maintained by a couple of hippies in their spare time.
Source: Bitelia