Agenda Posted for the Linux Kernel Summit

by Sam Dean - Sep. 12, 2008Comments (0)

The Linux Foundation has posted its agenda for the 2008 kernel summit which is typically an exclusive set of discussions involving about 80 developers on the topic of improving the Linux kernel. It takes place September 15th and 16th. At last year's summit important decisions were made concerning compatibility, with pledges to support Linux made by hardware makers. As Jonathan Corbet notes, this year's summit will include many discussions on processes related to developing the kernel, and a discussion on when device drivers should be merged. Here's what else to expect.

"Other process-oriented discussions include a session on tools, kernel quality (a perennial kernel summit topic), documentation, helping new developers join the community, and the organization of the kernel summit itself," says Corbet. "There will be some more technical sessions as well. The interaction between file systems and the block layer is one of those; there is a lot happening in the file systems area currently, and that has implications for how the higher-level code works. Boot-time tools - currently maintained independently by each distributor - will be discussed with an eye toward unifying some of that code." There will also be a discussion on tracing.

I'm hoping this year's summit produces some solid action on the drivers front. There are too many driver problems across the various Linux distros--to the point where some consolidation may make sense. Hardware manufacturers can't deliver drivers themselves for all Linux distros, and there is no organized process for keeping drivers fresh. Just take a look at the state of the Linux Drivers Project. This needs improvement.