Linus Torvalds has officially commenced the development of Linux Kernel 7.0, releasing the first release candidate (RC1) just two weeks after Kernel 6.19 was launched. In a light-hearted announcement to the Linux kernel mailing list, Torvalds noted that the new major version number was introduced simply because he finds large numbers confusing, emphasizing that this doesn’t signify significant new features, but instead represents a milestone of ongoing progress.
He explained, “We haven’t done releases based on features (or on ‘stable vs unstable’) for a long time now,” and indicated that this version bump wouldn’t lead to the abandonment of old interfaces. He anticipates that the major version will generally be incremented every three and a half years based on their usual release cycle of five to six iterations per year.
Despite concerns about potential complications during the transition to a new zero version, Torvalds reassured that this merge window was notably smooth, preventing boot errors on many machines. He humorously encouraged users to test the new kernel build to confirm its stability across various platforms.
In this first release candidate, the majority of changes—about two-thirds—pertain to driver updates, with the remainder containing various tweaks to architecture files, file systems, and kernel core code enhancements, resulting in a mixture of improvements across the board. Kernel 7.0 is expected to be officially released in mid-April, with follow-up candidates rolling out weekly.
Kernel 6.19, which preceded this release, introduced numerous minor bug fixes and wrapped up with commentary about expected delays linked to the Super Bowl event in the United States. The major updates included essential driver revisions, notably within the GPU, networking, and media realms, while also laying the groundwork for future developments in driver and subsystem functionality.
As Torvalds often does, he kept the atmosphere light, encouraging enthusiasm toward kernel testing while maintaining a clear understanding that a mix of updates ensures ongoing stability and performance enhancements for all users.
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