Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux Kernel 5.19 release candidate 1. The release is for testing only and it shouldn’t be used on a production machine. The first release candidate means that the development cycle is now officially started two weeks after the release of Linux Kernel 5.18. It also means that the merge window for Linux Kernel 5.19 is now officially closed.
Improvements for AMD GPU
Linus Torvalds stated that Linux Kernel 5.19 will be a big release. It will come with various improvements for AMD GPU users. It also includes various new and updated drivers, allowing the new version to support hardware better. Along with minor core kernel updates, it also comes with architecture updates, tooling, and documentation improvements. Linus Torvalds said,
« Anyway, apart from those three “process” issues, things look perfectly normal. Judging by the merge window, this release is going to be on the bigger side, but certainly not breaking any records, and nothing looks particularly odd or crazy. The diffstat is skewed by yet another drop of generated AMD GPU register descriptor headers, but I guess even that is “normal” by now. Certainly not a new thing. And if you ignore that drivers/gpu/drm/amd/include/ subdirectory, the stats look like they tend to do: roughly 60% drivers, with the rest being architecture updates, tooling, documentation and some relatively minor core kernel updates (filesystems, mm, networking etc. Oh, and the core module handling got split up into more manageable pieces rather than one big file).
One thing of note is how the long-time ARM generic kernel work (aka “multiplatform”) is pretty much done after 10+ years. Congrats to everybody involved. The 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 »
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.