The Linux Foundation Releases Annual Linux Development Report 101
darthcamaro writes "The Linux Foundation's Who Writes Linux report (sign up required) is now out and after 22 yrs leading Linux, Linux creator Linus Torvalds has fallen out of the list of top 100 developers in terms of code contributions. He currently ranks 101st for number of patches generated from the Linux 3.3 to the Linux 3.10 kernel releases." Read below for a few highlights from the report.
Nearly 10,000 developers from more than 1,000 companies have contributed to the Linux kernel since tracking began in 2005. Just since the last report, more than 1,100 developers from 225 companies have contributed to the kernel. In fact, more developers and companies are contributing to Linux than ever before with Linux kernel 3.10 seeing the most developer contributions ever. Mobile and embedded companies are increasing their investments in Linux. Linaro, Samsung and Texas Instruments together increased their aggregate contributions from 4.4 percent during the previous version of the paper to 11 percent of all changes this year. Google’s contributions are also up significantly this year.
The Top 10 organizations sponsoring Linux kernel development since the last report include Red Hat, Intel, Texas Instruments, Linaro, SUSE, IBM, Samsung, Google, Vision Engraving Systems Consultants and Wolfson Microelectronics. After appearing on the list for the first time in 2012, Microsoft notably dropped off the list entirely this year. A complete list of the top 30 organizations sponsoring this work is included in the paper.
The rate of Linux development is unmatched. The average number of changes accepted into the kernel per hour is 7.14, which translates to 171 changes every day and more than 1,200 per week.
Greatest (Score:5, Insightful)
There is no other person who has led as large and successful a software project for as long as Linus has with as much involvement as Linus has. I think that pretty much makes him the greatest software development manager of all time. It also means that those who criticize his management style need to pony up more than just their opinions.
Re:Yes but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Or you could just take note that Linus is becoming more of a manager than a raw code producer.
Of course, this is completely normal and part of the process a developer goes through in their lives as they progress through their stages.
Its just something to note, no need to get all offended, especially since we're not even talking about you, Fanboy. Linus will eventually stop writing code for Linux all together for any number of reasons, including the inevitable death.
Pull your panties out of your crack and move on. No one is insulting your God.
Re:Yes but... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm with you.
To me, the shocking thing is that it took him 22 years to fall out of the top 100. I would have assumed he'd have fallen out AT LEAST 10 years ago - for the very reasons you cite.
Re:Obligatory MS comparison (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a bit unfair to compare a kernel and an entire OS. As much as I am a Linux fanboy, it's comparing apples an oranges. Now if you were to compare GNU/Linux and Windows it might be more fair.
No Comparison (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Yes but... (Score:0, Insightful)
you'd be even more correct if you weren't abusive and presumptive. You're only verifying the kid's hunch, yet in a manner where you call him an idiot.
chill the fuck out man.
Just showing corporate subsidies ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Nobody from Ubuntu (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Vision Engraving and Wolfson ? (Score:5, Insightful)
No, it makes complete sense - these guys do drivers and such as a marketing exercise. When companies come to them, they want to answer "Yes, we have a driver for you, it's already in the kernel". OEMs are far more likely to choose a company that has drivers already in the kernel than not (and thus need to develop one). And being mainline In the kernel is a quality bar - it's one thing to have a driver to integrate yourself, it's another to have one that's in every kernel going forward.
So a lot of these contributions are "scratching their own itch" where the itch is "sell more of our chips".
Re:Nobody from Ubuntu (Score:5, Insightful)
I dunno about the specific developers at Ubutnu, but the reason that Ubuntu exists, other than being pissed at Debian's long release cycle, is because everyone was really sick and tired of the fragmentation that user-grade Linux distros were presenting. "What distro should I use?" isn't a question you want newbies to have to ask. "Well that depends on what distro you're using" isn't a response that I should have to give to my grandmother running Linux for the first time. Ubuntu have a nice solid STANDARD platform and interface for non-techy users to become familiar with.
So of course they decided to switch everyone to Unity. Fuckers.
Re:Nobody from Oracle (Score:2, Insightful)
Canonical isn't going to have a kernel team like the competition; their focus is the desktop side. Oracle is the surprise failure. They've complained before that their expertise rivals Red Hat, but this report appears to disagree.