Two weeks after the release of the Linux kernel 5.17, Linus Torvalds has already released Linux kernel 5.18 rc1. The new version of the Linux kernel brings new hardware compatibility-related improvements as usual. Linus Torvalds states that Linux kernel 5.18 development is ongoing pretty normal.
Most of it is driver updates
The new Linux kernel brings some improvements for the AMD GPU drivers as well as Intel performance monitoring event tables. Torvalds states that about 60% of the Linux kernel 5.18 rc1 consists of driver improvements related to GPU, networking, media, sound, SCSI, and more. The remaining 40% includes architectural improvements, tooling updates, core kernel updates for the filesystem, networking, and virtual machines.
The final release of the Linux kernel 5.18 is expected in the last weeks of May 2022. The date might change depending on the total number of release candidate versions. They are released once a week, generally as a total of 7. If Torvalds decides to go on for one more week, the final version might be ready on the 29th of May. Linus Torvalds, developer of Linux kernel said:
« So here we are, two weeks later, and the merge window is closed.
The full diffstat isn’t useful, because this is another of those occasional releases where the AMD drm driver adds those generated register definitions, so the diff is absolutely dominated by register definitions for DCN 3.1.x and MP 13.0.x register definitions. Don’t even go look – you’ll go blind.
Another fairly big chunk of it (but nowhere _near_ the AMD GPU register definitions) is the updates for various Intel performance monitoring event tables.
But if you ignore those two areas, things look fairly normal. At that point, it’s about 60%driver updates – with GPU updates are still fairly sizable, but now no longer so dominant as to hide everything else. And all the other usual suspects too: networking, sound, media, scsi, pinctrl, clk, etc.
The rest is fairly spread out documentation and devicetree bindings (maybe I should just count that against drivers), architecture updates (the biggest part of the diff: nds32 is gone, but there’s all the usual x86, arm, arm64, powerpc, parisc, mips, and riscv updates). Tooling updates (perf and selftests), and of course all the core kernel updates (filesystem, core, networking, VM).
As always, there are _way_ too many changes to list individually, and you’re just getting the usual merge log appended.
In fact, at least in pure commits, this has been a bigger merge window than we’ve had in some time. But let’s hope it’s all smooth sailing this release.
Sure, that will happen. »
The Linux kernel 5.18 rc1 is available for testing purposes. If you are willing to test 5.18 rc1, you can follow the link below:
Click here to download Linux kernel 5.18 rc1
FAQ
What is the most recent Linux kernel?
Currently, the most recent Linux kernel version is 6.1. The 6.2 version is expected to be released in the middle of February 2023.
How do you check the installed Linux kernel version?
You can check the Linux kernel version of your system with three different methods. You can simply use uname -r command to quickly check the Linux kernel version. You can also use cat /proc/version to check the version from a file. Installing the neofetch application is also an option to check the kernel version and it provides additional information about the other packages installed as well.
Can the Linux kernel be customized?
Yes, the Linux kernel can be customized. You can customize the Linux kernel by enabling or disabling specific options, and even adding new functionalities. But it’s a complicated process; you can check online guides about customizing the Linux kernel.
Is it legal to edit the Linux kernel?
Yes, it is legal to edit the Linux kernel since it is under General Public License.
Is the Linux kernel open source?
Yes, the Linux kernel is an open-source project.
Who developed the Linux kernel?
Linus Torvalds has developed and still developing the Linux kernel.
Does Linus Torvalds still work on Linux?
Yes, Linus Torvalds still works on developing the Linux kernel.
What is the Linux kernel written in?
Linux kernel code is written in the standard C programming language.