docs: update kernel versions and dates in tables
Every once in a while, we should update the examples to reflect more recent kernel versions. Update the tables describing kernel releases, the merge window, and current longterm maintained kernel, from 2.6-era kernels to 4.x. Signed-off-by: Tim Bird <tim.bird@sony.com> Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
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Tim Bird
Jonathan Corbet
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@ -18,17 +18,17 @@ major kernel release happening every two or three months. The recent
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release history looks like this:
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====== =================
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2.6.38 March 14, 2011
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2.6.37 January 4, 2011
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2.6.36 October 20, 2010
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2.6.35 August 1, 2010
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2.6.34 May 15, 2010
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2.6.33 February 24, 2010
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4.11 April 30, 2017
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4.12 July 2, 2017
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4.13 September 3, 2017
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4.14 November 12, 2017
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4.15 January 28, 2018
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4.16 April 1, 2018
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====== =================
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Every 2.6.x release is a major kernel release with new features, internal
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API changes, and more. A typical 2.6 release can contain nearly 10,000
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changesets with changes to several hundred thousand lines of code. 2.6 is
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Every 4.x release is a major kernel release with new features, internal
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API changes, and more. A typical 4.x release contain about 13,000
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changesets with changes to several hundred thousand lines of code. 4.x is
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thus the leading edge of Linux kernel development; the kernel uses a
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rolling development model which is continually integrating major changes.
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@ -70,20 +70,19 @@ will get up to somewhere between -rc6 and -rc9 before the kernel is
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considered to be sufficiently stable and the final 2.6.x release is made.
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At that point the whole process starts over again.
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As an example, here is how the 2.6.38 development cycle went (all dates in
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2011):
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As an example, here is how the 4.16 development cycle went (all dates in
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2018):
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============== ===============================
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January 4 2.6.37 stable release
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January 18 2.6.38-rc1, merge window closes
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January 21 2.6.38-rc2
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February 1 2.6.38-rc3
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February 7 2.6.38-rc4
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February 15 2.6.38-rc5
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February 21 2.6.38-rc6
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March 1 2.6.38-rc7
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March 7 2.6.38-rc8
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March 14 2.6.38 stable release
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January 28 4.15 stable release
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February 11 4.16-rc1, merge window closes
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February 18 4.16-rc2
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February 25 4.16-rc3
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March 4 4.16-rc4
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March 11 4.16-rc5
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March 18 4.16-rc6
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March 25 4.16-rc7
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April 1 4.17 stable release
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============== ===============================
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How do the developers decide when to close the development cycle and create
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@ -99,37 +98,42 @@ release is made. In the real world, this kind of perfection is hard to
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achieve; there are just too many variables in a project of this size.
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There comes a point where delaying the final release just makes the problem
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worse; the pile of changes waiting for the next merge window will grow
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larger, creating even more regressions the next time around. So most 2.6.x
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larger, creating even more regressions the next time around. So most 4.x
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kernels go out with a handful of known regressions though, hopefully, none
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of them are serious.
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Once a stable release is made, its ongoing maintenance is passed off to the
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"stable team," currently consisting of Greg Kroah-Hartman. The stable team
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will release occasional updates to the stable release using the 2.6.x.y
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will release occasional updates to the stable release using the 4.x.y
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numbering scheme. To be considered for an update release, a patch must (1)
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fix a significant bug, and (2) already be merged into the mainline for the
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next development kernel. Kernels will typically receive stable updates for
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a little more than one development cycle past their initial release. So,
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for example, the 2.6.36 kernel's history looked like:
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for example, the 4.13 kernel's history looked like:
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============== ===============================
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October 10 2.6.36 stable release
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November 22 2.6.36.1
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December 9 2.6.36.2
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January 7 2.6.36.3
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February 17 2.6.36.4
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September 3 4.13 stable release
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September 13 4.13.1
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September 20 4.13.2
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September 27 4.13.3
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October 5 4.13.4
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October 12 4.13.5
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... ...
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November 24 4.13.16
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============== ===============================
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2.6.36.4 was the final stable update for the 2.6.36 release.
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4.13.16 was the final stable update of the 4.13 release.
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Some kernels are designated "long term" kernels; they will receive support
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for a longer period. As of this writing, the current long term kernels
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and their maintainers are:
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====== ====================== ===========================
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2.6.27 Willy Tarreau (Deep-frozen stable kernel)
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2.6.32 Greg Kroah-Hartman
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2.6.35 Andi Kleen (Embedded flag kernel)
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====== ====================== ==============================
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3.16 Ben Hutchings (very long-term stable kernel)
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4.1 Sasha Levin
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4.4 Greg Kroah-Hartman (very long-term stable kernel)
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4.9 Greg Kroah-Hartman
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4.14 Greg Kroah-Hartman
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====== ====================== ===========================
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The selection of a kernel for long-term support is purely a matter of a
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