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Mainline Linux

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Mainline Linux refers to the Git tree of Linus Torvalds that contains the Linux kernel. Every stable Linux kernel release originates from the mainline tree,[1] and is frequently published on kernel.org. Mainline Linux has only solid support for a small subset of the many devices that run Linux. Non-mainline support can be found through independent projects such as Yocto or Linaro, but in many cases the kernel from the device vendor is needed.[2] Using a vendor kernel likely requires a board support package.

Maintaining a kernel tree outside of mainline Linux has proven to be very difficult.[3]

Mainlining refers to the effort of adding support for a device to the mainline kernel,[4] while there was formerly only support in a fork or no support at all. This usually includes adding drivers or device tree files. When this is finished, the feature or security fix is considered mainlined.[5]

Linux-like

The maintainer of the -stable branch Greg Kroah-Hartman has applied the term "Linux-like" to downstream kernel forks by vendors that add millions of lines of code to the mainline kernel.[6] In 2019, Google stated that they wanted to use the mainline Linux kernel in Android so the number of kernel forks would be reduced.[7] The term Linux-like has also been applied to the Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset, which does not include the full mainline Linux kernel but a small modified subset of the code.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Billimoria, Kaiwan N. (2021). Linux Kernel Programming A Comprehensive Guide to Kernel Internals, Writing Kernel Modules, and Kernel Synchronization. Birmingham: Packt Publishing, Limited. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-78995-592-7. OCLC 1240585605.
  2. ^ Vaduva, Alexandru (2016). Linux : embedded development : leverage the power of Linux to develop captivating and powerful embedded Linux projects : a course in three modules. Alex Gonzalez, Chris Simmonds. Birmingham, UK. p. 663. ISBN 978-1-78712-445-5. OCLC 960471438.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Building embedded Linux systems. Karim Yaghmour (2nd ed.). Sebastopol [Calif.]: O'Reilly Media. 2008. p. 387. ISBN 978-0-596-52968-0. OCLC 273049576.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ^ Yaghmour, Karim (2011). Embedded Android. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4493-2798-9. OCLC 812180000.
  5. ^ "SoC (System on a Chip)". OpenWrt Wiki. 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2021-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "What to do about CVE numbers [LWN.net]". lwn.net. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  7. ^ Amadeo, Ron (2019-11-20). "Google outlines plans for mainline Linux kernel support in Android". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  8. ^ Bruchon, Jody (2021-04-24), jbruchon/elks, retrieved 2021-04-27
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