"Linux was once 10,000 lines of code and required part-time tending. It’s now 19 million lines of code, and changing it involves a complex hierarchy."
Just wondered: 19 MLOC all driver code included, right?
Profile of Linus Torvalds
51–60 of 71 posts
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#52My main criticism of the linux ecosystem is this: The many eyes theory is broken due to complexity and amount of code, and hence the primary way to the future is in reduction of both (loc and complexity thereof). At over 10 million loc these days, linux has become unweildy for even the most experienced kernel hacker to really understand. This is why I think microkernels like Minix 3 have a bright future as their deve…
Here's the problem: At what rate do microkernels like Minix 3 progress? Compared to Linux, they progress glacially. And, when Minix 3 has as much functionality as Linux does, how many loc will it have? I grant you that you might have some efficiency from the (assumedly) better architecture, but how much? Would Minix 3 have 5M loc? Would it be really understandable at that point? (Perhaps more than Linux, because of m…
I completely agree, but one thing to keep in mind is that Minix 3 just relatively recently got it's BSD license, and I think that was it's main limiting factor in the past. As for how it progresses, I can't predict the future, but I think something similar to it could easily get a good boost if it was embraced/pushed in the sector it's best at, eg embedded devices and iot. I work along-side scada systems and am constantly appalled at the state of security on systems.
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#53As an aside, how does Linus come across as a grouch? Like any other normal human being that expresses a range of emotions, he might have exhibited an imperfect control on his temper/tone. People are way too judgemental / thin skinned these days.
I am a very thick skinned person, I like people joking about me and like to joke about others, but let's get not confused about Linus, he's quite a character, I personally really like him (as far as I know him, basically his internet persona), but I can perfectly understand how it doesn't fit with a lot of people. I find the following phrase hilarious: >> I find people who think open-source is anti-capitalism to be k…
Well, I think that instead people should be more accepting towards others' personal imperfections. Political correctness should be avoided at all costs because it's by definition a kind of dishonest manipulation.
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#54As an aside, how does Linus come across as a grouch? Like any other normal human being that expresses a range of emotions, he might have exhibited an imperfect control on his temper/tone. People are way too judgemental / thin skinned these days.
I don't like working with people who are unpleasant to work with. Of course, if you are really good, he isn't unpleasant to you. I'm not that good, so I suppose the fact that I wouldn't want to work with Linus would be a success story from his point of view.
>I don't like working with people who are unpleasant to work with.
How do you know he is unpleasant to work with?
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#55I stopped reading when the author referred to Linux as an operating system.
Yeah, whenever people use a term with a very slightly different take on the subtleties of its technical meaning from me, I dismiss whatever else they have to say.
It's more than a subtlety, imo. A distro is an OS, and linux is the kernel. An OS implies direct user interaction; the kernel runs the hardware in the background. Seriously, take a moment to explain the technical shit in a way that someone unfamiliar with it will understand - 'linux is like an engine, and distros are like the different vehicles that use it under the hood. Anyone can use it, and even change it, but Linus has final say on the design of the official engine.' Was that so hard? Even grandma can wrap her head around that.
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Once upon a time, before RMS re-defined the term for his benefit, the phrase "Operating System" meant what we now call the kernel. You can see the legacy of this in Computer Science departments around the country where they teach an "Operating Systems" course which covers implementing schedulers, file systems, device drivers, etc... Maybe if the GNU folks could have made a usable kernel, they wouldn't have had to sto…
What about Unix, CP/M, DOS..? None of those are kernels yet they were said to be operating systems and before GNU was announced. My question is has Linus ever considered Linux to be the operating system rather than just the name of the kernel?
Actually, all of those have something strongly resembling a kernel, and DOS in particular makes a nice distinction between the basic services (BIOS) and whatever userland you choose to install on top of it. I think you're making my point - "Operating System" used to mean the "kernel" before RMS wanted to ride on Linux's coat tails and Microsoft wanted to bundle their browser anti-competitively - both of which are distasteful.
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#57There are some programmers on the planet that I just don't know how to they do the things they do: Linus Torvalds, Mike Pall (luajit), Edi Weitz (Common Lisp) and several others, but these were the ones I always remmember from my limited exposure to the unlimited world of operating systems, languages, environments and virtual machinery...
Dont forget Fabrice Bellard!
We could add Lorenz Meier (PX4 autopilot for drones) and Terry Davis (TempleOS).
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am a very thick skinned person, I like people joking about me and like to joke about others, but let's get not confused about Linus, he's quite a character, I personally really like him (as far as I know him, basically his internet persona), but I can perfectly understand how it doesn't fit with a lot of people. I find the following phrase hilarious: >> I find people who think open-source is anti-capitalism to be k…
Well, I think that instead people should be more accepting towards others' personal imperfections. Political correctness should be avoided at all costs because it's by definition a kind of dishonest manipulation.
I don't think it's "political correctness" to prefer not to be verbally abused. Linus has admitted that he doesn't care about people:
http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/linus-torvalds-on-wh...
Re: Profile of Linus Torvalds
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
You could, but he chooses not to.
I saw an article recently in which he said he'd started using a text based browser. At this rate he'll be using Iceweasel by around 2030...
"I generally do not connect to web sites from my own machine, aside from a few sites I have some special relationship with. I usually fetch web pages from other sites by sending mail to a program that fetches them, much like wget, and then mails them back to me. Then I look at them using a web browser..."