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Linux ships on a 9-week release cycle. The first 2 weeks are a merge window for new features. The following 7 weeks are only for fixing features and regression bugs. In the past, Linux had much longer development cycles, ranging from 6 months to 2-3 years, which created a lot of pressure around getting features merged.
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"A 9-week cycle reduces the burden on developers. If a feature isn't ready, you can just wait for the next 9 weeks. It creates an environment where maintainers don't have to force incomplete features in."
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The entire Linux kernel codebase is roughly 40 million lines. Only about 5% of that is the core kernel shared across all systems. The server core kernel is around 1.5 million lines, while the smartphone core kernel is around 4 million. Mobile devices are more complex because they have to interact with power management, clock control, battery management, modem communication, and many other hardware concerns.
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They care not only about code quality, but also about whether a contributor will keep participating in maintenance over time. Especially in core systems, a key merge question is whether this person can continue owning and caring for the code. "We all make mistakes. What matters is that there's someone who will fix them."
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Around 4,000 developers from roughly 500 companies contribute to Linux every year. Most of them are paid by their employers and contribute because their companies need Linux.
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"There's a joke that if you contribute to Linux three times, your employment is guaranteed. But it isn't really a joke."
