Linus Torvalds: 'Linux is bloated'

[Jon VanAlten]

Hi all,

Well I haven't previously introduced myself on-list, but this will do.
Where do I stand in the Linux community?  I've been using Linux, primarily
Ubuntu and Fedora, for several years, currently work at Red Hat's Toronto
office as an intern, where I am looking primarily at IcedTea, an
OpenJDK-based implementation of Java.

And I couldn't resist responding to this post!  :D

<my jaded opinion>
Matt Asay's opinion pieces on open source software are frequently off the
mark.  This is not a news article, it is a blog post.
</my jaded opinion>

Here is some IMO slightly better coverage of the conversation:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/22/linus_torvalds_linux_bloated_huge/

For those who don't wish to read, I'll include a quote that put the bloat
comment in a bit more context.  Linus said:

"The kernel is huge and bloated, and our icache footprint is scary. I mean,
there is no question about that. And whenever we add a new feature, it only
gets worse."

So yes, the kernel grows as new features are added.  But he did not describe
Linux as a whole as "huge and scary"; in fact, it appears that Asay has
paraphrased, while giving the incorrect impression that this was a direct
quote.

Besides, for anyone who cares about kernel bloat/icache size, they probably
have the know-how to roll their own kernel from source with only the
features they need.

This certainly is not a sign that Linux has failed!!

cheers,

jon

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Michael Lauzon <mlauzon-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:

> Interesting but extremely short article, here's a clip, the URL will
> follow:
>
> "Linus Torvalds, founder of the Linux kernel, made a startling comment
> at LinuxCon in Portland, Ore., on Monday: "Linux is bloated." While
> the open-source community has long pointed the finger at Microsoft's
> Windows as bloated, it appears that with success has come added heft,
> heft that makes Linux "huge and scary now," according to Torvalds.
>
> "Has Linux failed?"
>
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10358024-16.html
>
> --
> Sincerely,
>
> Michael Lauzon
> --
> The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://gtalug.org/
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