Well, this settles it for me

Posted Sep 7, 2009 8:03 UTC (Mon) by bvdm (guest, #42755)
In reply to: Well, this settles it for me by k8to
Parent article: BFS vs. mainline scheduler benchmarks and measurements

You are a fortunate man to have the time and opportunity to traverse Silicon Valley so thoroughly :-p

But seriously, the only objective measures we have are the number of contributors and SLOC added, and both of these are still accelerating.

Now I would be astounded if the Linux kernel were the only technical project in the world without non-technical problems, but don't you think there are many other explanations for this change in perception? Such as, perhaps:

- That having your code included in the kernel has a much increased monetary benefit and is therefore more sought after
- That the existing kernel developers have increased in their experience and skill and that standards for acceptance are therefore higher today
- That the stature of being a core kernel developer has risen and that ego may be involved
- That many parts of the kernel is near-optimal or at least very mature and that it is sensible to value stability in those areas

And are the driver staging tree and desktop and security advances such as KMS and SMACK not countersigns to what you are suggesting?