The next big Linux update could be a big deal, according to foundation founder and head honcho Linus Torvalds.
Tovalds said in the latest update (opens in new tab) on the development of the Linux 5.19 kernel that the “ARM generic kernel work (aka “multiplatform”) is pretty much done after 10+ years.”
He added: “StrongARM platforms remain with their separate kernels, and are expected to stay so, but compared to where things were a decade ago, this is a pretty big step.”
What does this mean?
Torvalds has historically not been one to over sell kernel updates.
Torvalds said, “nothing really odd stands out” for users of Linux distros from the latest 5.18 update, dubbing the kernel “plain old boring 5.18”.
The stable version of Linux 5.19 may be available by the end of July 2022.
Around 60% of the 5.19 release is set to be hardware-related driver support, but there are architecture updates, tooling and documentation improvements, and minor core kernel updates scheduled according to Torvalds.
Despite the release of 5.19 “looking like it is going to be on the bigger side” Torvalds did say it is “certainly not breaking any records, and nothing looks particularly odd or crazy”.
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Development hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing, Torvalds complained that several late pull requests have been slowing down the development process, but he did commend users on consistently tagging these pulls.
In terms of upgraded support, 5.19 will include NVMe support for Apple silicon, HPE GXP architecture, and LoongArch64 architecture.