Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News
Chronicler Zack Brown reports on the latest news, views, dilemmas, and developments within the Linux kernel community.
Defensive Patch Tracking for All
Luis R. Rodriguez pointed out that the "Signed-off-by" tag has become popular with other free software projects.
Originally, the "Signed-off-by" tag for patch submissions was created in response to the SCO lawsuit, which targeted (among others) Linus Torvalds and asked for proof that Linux did not incorporate code derived from Unix System V, which SCO owned. At the time, given the hierarchical nature of Linux development, patches would sift upward through mailing lists, testers and cohorts, official maintainers, lieutenants, and others before finally arriving in Linus's inbox to be applied to the kernel tree. Not much more than good will ensured that the code submitted to Linus was actually owned by the person who originally submitted it.
Ultimately, Linus has an algorithmic approach to development. Kernel development is itself a running process on a very strange system. The copyright challenge represented out-of-memory errors and data throughput bottlenecks and perhaps came close to crashing the system entirely. In other words, it required a god-awful amount of work to refute SCO's claims.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Framework Laptop 13 Pro Competes with the Best
Framework has released what might be considered the MacBook of Linux devices.
-
The Latest CachyOS Features Supercharged Kernel
The latest release of CachyOS brings with it an enhanced version of the latest Linux kernel.
-
Kernel 7.0 Is a Bit More Rusty
Linux kernel 7.0 has been released for general availability, with Rust finally getting its due.
-
France Says "Au Revoir" to Microsoft
In a move that should surprise no one, France announced plans to reduce its reliance on US technology, and Microsoft Windows is the first to get the boot.
-
CIQ Releases Compatibility Catalog for Rocky Linux
The company behind Rocky Linux is making an open catalog available to developers, hobbyists, and other contributors, so they can verify and publish compatibility with the CIQ lineup.
-
KDE Gets Some Resuscitation
KDE is bringing back two themes that vanished a few years ago, putting a bit more air under its wings.
-
Ubuntu 26.04 Beta Arrives with Some Surprises
Ubuntu 26.04 is almost here, but the beta version has been released, and it might surprise some people.
-
Ubuntu MATE Dev Leaving After 12 years
Martin Wimpress, the maintainer of Ubuntu MATE, is now searching for his successor. Are you the next in line?
-
Kali Linux Waxes Nostalgic with BackTrack Mode
For those who've used Kali Linux since its inception, the changes with the new release are sure to put a smile on your face.
-
Gnome 50 Smooths Out NVIDIA GPU Issues
Gamers rejoice, your favorite pastime just got better with Gnome 50 and NVIDIA GPUs.