Linux 6.14-rc1
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LWN ☛ Linux 6.14-rc1
Two weeks have passed, and the merge window is over.
This is actually a _tiny_ merge window, and that's ok. The holidays clearly meant that people did less development than during a normal cycle, and that then shows up as a much smaller-than-average release. I really felt like this year we got the whole holiday season release timing right, and this is just another sign of that.
Of course, "tiny" for us still means that there's half a million lines changed, and more than 10k commits in there - but only barely. In fact, not counting merges there's only something like 9.3k commits. So the shortlog is still much too large to post - it's really "tiny" only when compared to our normal releases.
Aside from the size, the stats otherwise look fairly normal: pretty much exactly half of the diff is drivers, with the rest being a pretty normal mix of arch updates, filesystem code, tooling and documentation. And all the usual changes spread all over.
Let's hope that a small release also ends up meaning smooth sailing during the stabilization phase. That's obviously guaranteed, but fingers crossed...
Linus
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LWN ☛ Kernel prepatch 6.14-rc1
Linus has released 6.14-rc1 and closed the merge window for this release.
ZDNet (Jack Wallen):
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'Tiny' Linux 6.14-rc1 released: What's new in 500,000 lines of modified code | ZDNET
According to Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux), kernel 6.14 is "tiny." He also said this: "Of course, 'tiny' for us still means that there's half a million lines changed and more than 10k commits in there -- but only barely. In fact, not counting merges there's only something like 9.3k commits. So the shortlog is still much too large to post - it's really 'tiny' only when compared to our normal releases."
Half a million lines of code changed is not insignificant. Although it might be small in new features, Linux kernel 6.14 does deliver some significant changes. For instance, the new kernel includes updates for RAS (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability), fixes for CPU speculation, Secure Encrypted Virtualization, and microcode loader improvements.
GBHackers:
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Linux 6.14 Released – What's New
The Linux Kernel 6.14-rc1 (release candidate 1) has been officially announced by Linus Torvalds, marking the conclusion of the merge window.
Described as notably “tiny” compared to previous release cycles, this development reflects the impact of the holiday season on developers’ schedules.
Despite its relative size, the release still comprises significant updates half a million lines of code changes and over 10,000 commits, with approximately 9,300 non-merge commits.
This is not slop:
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Linux 6.14: Rust milestone, AMD and Intel updates, and more
Linus Torvalds has announced the first Release Candidate (RC) for Linux kernel 6.14, marking the beginning of public testing. This release comes two weeks after the debut of the Linux 6.13 kernel and the opening of Linux 6.14’s merge window.
This milestone sets in motion the rapid development cadence leading up to the stable release, which is expected in roughly two months. Torvalds invites users and developers to test the RCs and report any issues to ensure a smooth final rollout. But before diving into testing, let’s examine the standout features and enhancements in Linux 6.14.
Linux Magazine:
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First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 N... » Linux Magazine
The latest Linux kernel now has a release candidate (6.14-rc1) available for testing. Within the 500,000 lines of code, there were over 10,000 commits and 9,300 merges. Although this is one of the smaller releases recently, it still includes some important changes, specifically in the areas of x86 architecture, filesystems, networking, hardware support, and security.
The new release (RC) candidate updates Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS) and includes fixes for CPU speculation, enhancements for Secure Encrypted Virtualization, improvements to several filesystems, several networking fixes, support for ARM architecture, and improvements for RISC-V hardware.
Although Torvalds says this is a "tiny" release (because less development occurred over the holidays), he believes the development team was finally able to get the whole holiday season release timing right.