August 19, 2009, 8:55 am
A report published today by the Linux Foundation provides insight into the state of the Linux kernel development community and includes statistics that reveal which companies are the most prolific contributors. The study indicates that the project is attracting new programmers and has strong backing from a highly diverse assortment of hardware and software companies that actively participate in the development process.
The Linux kernel, with over 11.5 million lines of code, is arguably one of the largest and most significant open source software projects. The health of the kernel development ecosystem is important to the growing number of Linux vendors and adopters. The Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization that coordinates kernel development, studies the matter closely. In April 2008, the organization released its first report with kernel contributor statistics. The new report provides updated information and a view into the current state of the kernel.
