[PATCH] Documentation: update references to v2.6.x in development-process
From: Paul Gortmaker
Date: Mon Jul 15 2013 - 19:35:41 EST
The last mainline release of a v2.6.x kernel was back in May 2011.
Here we update references to be 3.x based, which also means updating
some dates and statistics.
Also update information pertaining to longterm releases. Here I have
intentionally left out any mention of the v2.6.34.x longterm, since I
will EOL it before this patch makes it in the v3.12 kernel anyway.
Finally, update the links to mmotm and linux-next trees, as neither of
them worked and pre-dated the kernel.org server rebuilds.
Cc: Rob Landley <rob@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Willy Tarreau <w@xxxxxx>
Cc: Ben Hutchings <ben@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Andrew Morton <akpm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Stephen Rothwell <sfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Paul Gortmaker <paul.gortmaker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
diff --git a/Documentation/development-process/2.Process b/Documentation/development-process/2.Process
index 4823577..0c943a1 100644
--- a/Documentation/development-process/2.Process
+++ b/Documentation/development-process/2.Process
@@ -14,16 +14,16 @@ The kernel developers use a loosely time-based release process, with a new
major kernel release happening every two or three months. The recent
release history looks like this:
- 2.6.38 March 14, 2011
- 2.6.37 January 4, 2011
- 2.6.36 October 20, 2010
- 2.6.35 August 1, 2010
- 2.6.34 May 15, 2010
- 2.6.33 February 24, 2010
-
-Every 2.6.x release is a major kernel release with new features, internal
-API changes, and more. A typical 2.6 release can contain nearly 10,000
-changesets with changes to several hundred thousand lines of code. 2.6 is
+ 3.10 June 30, 2013
+ 3.9 April 28, 2013
+ 3.8 February 18, 2013
+ 3.7 December 10, 2012
+ 3.6 September 30, 2012
+ 3.5 July 21, 2012
+
+Every 3.x release is a major kernel release with new features, internal
+API changes, and more. A typical 3.x release can contain over 10,000
+changesets with changes to several hundred thousand lines of code. 3.x is
thus the leading edge of Linux kernel development; the kernel uses a
rolling development model which is continually integrating major changes.
@@ -43,9 +43,9 @@ detail later on).
The merge window lasts for approximately two weeks. At the end of this
time, Linus Torvalds will declare that the window is closed and release the
-first of the "rc" kernels. For the kernel which is destined to be 2.6.40,
+first of the "rc" kernels. For the kernel which is destined to be 3.12,
for example, the release which happens at the end of the merge window will
-be called 2.6.40-rc1. The -rc1 release is the signal that the time to
+be tagged v3.12-rc1. The -rc1 release is the signal that the time to
merge new features has passed, and that the time to stabilize the next
kernel has begun.
@@ -62,22 +62,21 @@ add at any time).
As fixes make their way into the mainline, the patch rate will slow over
time. Linus releases new -rc kernels about once a week; a normal series
will get up to somewhere between -rc6 and -rc9 before the kernel is
-considered to be sufficiently stable and the final 2.6.x release is made.
+considered to be sufficiently stable and the final 3.x release is made.
At that point the whole process starts over again.
-As an example, here is how the 2.6.38 development cycle went (all dates in
-2011):
+As an example, here is how the 3.10 development cycle went (all dates in
+2013):
- January 4 2.6.37 stable release
- January 18 2.6.38-rc1, merge window closes
- January 21 2.6.38-rc2
- February 1 2.6.38-rc3
- February 7 2.6.38-rc4
- February 15 2.6.38-rc5
- February 21 2.6.38-rc6
- March 1 2.6.38-rc7
- March 7 2.6.38-rc8
- March 14 2.6.38 stable release
+ April 28 3.9 stable release
+ May 11 3.10-rc1, merge window closes
+ May 20 3.10-rc2
+ May 26 3.10-rc3
+ June 2 3.10-rc4
+ June 8 3.10-rc5
+ June 15 3.10-rc6
+ June 22 3.10-rc7
+ June 30 3.10 stable release
How do the developers decide when to close the development cycle and create
the stable release? The most significant metric used is the list of
@@ -92,34 +91,41 @@ release is made. In the real world, this kind of perfection is hard to
achieve; there are just too many variables in a project of this size.
There comes a point where delaying the final release just makes the problem
worse; the pile of changes waiting for the next merge window will grow
-larger, creating even more regressions the next time around. So most 2.6.x
+larger, creating even more regressions the next time around. So most 3.x
kernels go out with a handful of known regressions though, hopefully, none
of them are serious.
Once a stable release is made, its ongoing maintenance is passed off to the
"stable team," currently consisting of Greg Kroah-Hartman. The stable team
-will release occasional updates to the stable release using the 2.6.x.y
+will release occasional updates to the stable release using the 3.x.y
numbering scheme. To be considered for an update release, a patch must (1)
fix a significant bug, and (2) already be merged into the mainline for the
next development kernel. Kernels will typically receive stable updates for
a little more than one development cycle past their initial release. So,
-for example, the 2.6.36 kernel's history looked like:
-
- October 10 2.6.36 stable release
- November 22 2.6.36.1
- December 9 2.6.36.2
- January 7 2.6.36.3
- February 17 2.6.36.4
-
-2.6.36.4 was the final stable update for the 2.6.36 release.
+for example, the 3.7 kernel's history (2012/2013) looked like:
+
+ December 10 v3.7 stable release
+ December 17 v3.7.1
+ January 11 v3.7.2
+ January 17 v3.7.3
+ January 21 v3.7.4
+ January 27 v3.7.5
+ February 3 v3.7.6
+ February 11 v3.7.7
+ February 14 v3.7.8
+ February 17 v3.7.9
+ February 27 v3.7.10
+
+3.7.10 was the final stable update for the 3.7 release.
Some kernels are designated "long term" kernels; they will receive support
for a longer period. As of this writing, the current long term kernels
and their maintainers are:
- 2.6.27 Willy Tarreau (Deep-frozen stable kernel)
- 2.6.32 Greg Kroah-Hartman
- 2.6.35 Andi Kleen (Embedded flag kernel)
+ 2.6.32 Willy Tarreau
+ 3.0 Greg Kroah-Hartman
+ 3.2 Ben Hutchings
+ 3.4 Greg Kroah-Hartman
The selection of a kernel for long-term support is purely a matter of a
maintainer having the need and the time to maintain that release. There
@@ -199,8 +205,8 @@ involved.
2.3: HOW PATCHES GET INTO THE KERNEL
There is exactly one person who can merge patches into the mainline kernel
-repository: Linus Torvalds. But, of the over 9,500 patches which went
-into the 2.6.38 kernel, only 112 (around 1.3%) were directly chosen by Linus
+repository: Linus Torvalds. But, of the over 13,500 patches which went
+into the 3.10 kernel, only 70 (around 0.5%) were directly chosen by Linus
himself. The kernel project has long since grown to a size where no single
developer could possibly inspect and select every patch unassisted. The
way the kernel developers have addressed this growth is through the use of
@@ -276,7 +282,7 @@ mainline get there via -mm.
The current -mm patch is available in the "mmotm" (-mm of the moment)
directory at:
- http://userweb.kernel.org/~akpm/mmotm/
+ http://www.ozlabs.org/~akpm/mmotm/
Use of the MMOTM tree is likely to be a frustrating experience, though;
there is a definite chance that it will not even compile.
@@ -287,7 +293,7 @@ the mainline is expected to look like after the next merge window closes.
Linux-next trees are announced on the linux-kernel and linux-next mailing
lists when they are assembled; they can be downloaded from:
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/sfr/linux-next/
+ https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/next/linux-next.git/
Some information about linux-next has been gathered at:
--
1.8.1.2
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