Linux kernel mailing list

The Linux kernel mailing list (LKML) is the main electronic mailing list for Linux kernel development [http://www.kernel-traffic.org/kernel-traffic/index.html Kernel Traffic] ] [cite journal
last =Gallivan
first =Michael J.
date =2001-12-29
title =Striking a balance between trust and control in a virtual organization: a content analysis of open source software case studies
journal =Information Systems Journal
volume =11
issue =4
pages =277–304
issn =1350-1917
doi =10.1046/j.1365-2575.2001.00108.x
url =http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2575.2001.00108.x
accessdate =2007-03-13
laysummary =
laysource =
laydate =] , where majority of the announcements, discussions, debates, and flame wars over the kernel take placecite book
last = Love
first = Robert
authorlink = Robert Love
title = Linux Kernel Development
edition = 2nd
date = 2005-01-12
publisher = Novell Press
isbn = 978-0672327209
chapter = Patches, Hacking, and the Community] . Many other mailing lists exist to discuss the different subsystems and ports of the Linux kernel, but LKML is the principal communication channel among Linux kernel developers [cite book
last = Llamosi
first = Albert
title = Reliable Software Technologies - Ada-Europe 2004
series = Lecture Notes in Computer Science , Vol. 3063
date = 2004-07-27
publisher = Springer
isbn = 978-3540220114] . It is a very high volume list, usually receiving between 200 and 300 messages each day.

Linux utilizes a workflow governed by LKML [cite book
last = Defillippi
first = Robert
title = Knowledge at Work: Creative Collaboration in the Global Economy
edition = 1st
date = 2006-09-01
publisher = Blackwell Publishing Limited
isbn = 978-1405107563
pages = 168] , which is the Bazaar where kernel development takes place. In his book "Linux Kernel Development", Robert Love notes:

LKML is the central place where Linux developers around the world share patches, argue about implementation details, and discuss other issues. The official releases of Linux kernel are indicated by an email to LKML [cite paper
author = Justin R. Erenkrantz
title = Release Management Within Open Source Projects
publisher = Institute for Software Research, University of California
url = http://pascal.case.unibz.it/retrieve/3442/OSSE3-Erenkrantz.pdf
format = PDF
accessdate = 2007-03-13] [ [http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Linux_kernel_to_be_suitable_for_enterprise/0,139023166,120107594,00.htm Linux kernel to be suitable for enterprise] , [http://news.com.com/2100-1001-247983.html Test version of new Linux kernel available] ] . New features are discussed and most code is posted to the list before any action is taken. It is also the official place for reporting bugs in the Linux kernel, in case one cannot find the maintainer to whom the bug should be reported [ [http://kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/reporting-bugs.html Reporting bugs for the Linux kernel] ] . A controversial author suggests that it was on LKML that Tux, the official Linux mascot, was suggested and refined [ [http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42209,00.html The Story Behind Tux the Penguin] [http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/index.html#119 Initial thread for "Linux logo"] ] . Many companies associated with Linux kernel make announcements and proposals on LKML; for example, Novell [ [http://news.com.com/2061-10795_3-5772444.html Novell introduces Linux kernel debugger] ] , Intel [ [http://news.com.com/2100-1001-984769.html Intel, Red Hat cure open-source hiccup] , [http://uwsg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0212.0/1387.html Proposed ACPI Licensing change] ] , VMware [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/20/vmware_linux_xen/page2.html Linux team tells VMware and Xen to get their acts together] , [http://lwn.net/Articles/175457/ VMI i386 Linux virtualization interface proposal] ] , IBM [ [http://www.kernel-traffic.org/kernel-traffic/kt20010709_125.txt IBM announces Journaled File System v 1.0.0] , Kernel Traffic #125 For 9 Jul 2001] etc.

The list subscribers include all the Linux kernel maintainers (Linus Torvalds [ [http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,63574-0.html Linux: Whose Kernel Is It?] , [http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Torvalds-Defends-Linux-Trademark/story.xhtml?story_id=112003LQ9CGW Torvalds Defends Linux Trademark Protection] , [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,113922-page,1/article.html Linux 2.6.0 Kernel Released] ] , Marcelo Tosatti [ [http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-5113918.html Linux guru: Move quickly to new kernel] ] , Alan Cox [ [http://kerneltrap.org/node/759 Linux: Alan Cox To Take One Year Sabbatical] ] , Andrew Morton [ [http://lkml.org/lkml/2006/8/6/16 LKML: Andrew Morton: 2.6.18-rc3-mm1 ] ] ) as well as other known figures in Linux circles (such as Jeff V. Merkey [ [http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/17/2021230 GaDuGi and free software share one fire] , [http://os.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/12/30/1631252 Linus tells Merkey, "Cry me a river"] ] , Eric S. Raymond [ [http://linux.sys-con.com/read/32722_2.htm Linus tries to make himself scale] ] etc.). A 2000 study found that 14,535 people, from at least 30 different countries, sent at least one email to LKML between 1995 and 2000 to participate in the discussion of Linux developmentcite paper
author = Gwendolyn K. Lee, Robert E. Cole
title = The Linux Kernel Development As A Model of Open Source Knowledge Creation
publisher = Haas School of Business, University of California
date = December 2000
url = http://pascal.case.unibz.it/retrieve/3302/lee00linux.pdf
format = PDF
accessdate = 2007-03-13] .

Authors of books such as "The Linux Kernel Development As A Model of Open Source Knowledge Creation" and "Motivation of Software Developers in Open Source Projects" [cite paper
author = Guido Hertel, Sven Niedner and Stefanie Herrmann
title = Motivation of Software Developers in Open Source Projects
publisher = University of Kiel, Institut fuer Psychologie
url = http://opensource.mit.edu/papers/rp-hertelniednerherrmann.pdf
format = PDF
accessdate = 2007-03-13] , and "Recovering Device Drivers" [cite paper
author = Michael M. Swift, Muthukaruppan Annamalai, Brian N. Bershad, and Henry M. Levy
title = Recovering Device Drivers
publisher = University of Washington
url = http://www.usenix.org/events/osdi04/tech/swift/swift_html/
format = HTML
accessdate = 2007-03-13] have made use of LKML for their research studies and surveys.

The newsletter "Kernel Traffic" used to cover the activities of the linux-kernel mailing list. Archives of the mailing list are available on many internet websites.

See also

* LWN.net, which provides a weekly LKML news digest
* Kerneltrap
* ZMailer mail transfer agent

References

External links

* [http://www.tux.org/lkml/ Official FAQ of the Linux Kernel Mailing List] (also at [http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/ kernel.org] , the official kernel development site)
* [http://www.uwsg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/index.html LKML archive] at Indiana University
* [http://marc.info/?l=linux-kernel LKML archive] at MARC (archive)
* [http://www.kerneltraffic.org/ Kernel Traffic] - Periodic newsletters summarizing discussions on LKML and other open source mailing lists
* [http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html Majordomo lists at vger.kernel.org] - Other Linux kernel related lists.