Linux 5.8, however, has been released, described in the past by the author of the Linux kernel, Linus Torvalds, as “one of our greatest versions of all time”.
The new linux kernel edition brings a series of updates to Linux 5.7 covering security, critical components, drivers, memory management, network and kernel design improvements, among others.
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This includes updates to Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization platform, Intel Tiger Lake Thunderbolt, innovations in Microsoft’s exFAT registration system, and for new Intel and ARM chips.
Torvalds stated that the kernel had won more than 15,000 merge requests and that approximately 20% of all files in the kernel source repository had been modified. “It’s a pretty big percentage, and even if some of it is written, it’s generally the same pattern: 5.8 just saw great development,” Torvalds said.
Translated to numbers, Linux 5.8 includes more than 800,000 new lines and more than 14,000 modified files. According to Torvalds, it also won one of the largest merge requests in its merge window: more than 14,000 non-merger validations and more than 15,000 aggregated mergers. “5.8 looks great. Really great,” he added.
However, although the 5.8 edition of the kernel is approximately the same length as the 4.9 edition of 2016, Torvalds noted that Linux 4.9 had an “artificially large” component because it contained the Greybus drive force subsystem of Google’s modular phone project, Project Ara, which has since been put on hold.
Users interested in downloading the 5.8 edition of Linux can download it from the official Linux kernel page. In the meantime, be sure to visit TechRepublic’s Flipboard page for more coverage, guides, and mandatory reading procedures on Linux, Android, and open source.
Owen Hughes is a London-based journalist for ZDNet and TechRepublic.