Linux v2.0 released
Linus Torvalds
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I have made version 2.0 of the Linux kernel available on the normal
kernel ftp-sites, from which it will surely be mirrored within hours to
other sites too (so the astute reader will try to look at other mirror
sites first, in order to avoid total ftp overload).
The sites I have uploaded them to are
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/v2.0
ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v2.0
And the md5sum's and sizes for the files are:
7085b44c1bbd359870fcc72257ea2088 20724 Changes
ea45397265c364f0d98300d6df33576f 16335 Logo.gif
2b84db0bdc87bbba1204dc2418c67724 561 Logo.txt
e693cf603bc6dcb5970bee83c5b464df 5843677 linux-2.0.tar.gz
and a patch from pre2.0.14 is available in the v1.3 subdirectory:
6d88195391620d4880779677b712da4f patch-pre2.0.14-final2.0.gz
NOTE! Some of the changes since 1.2.x have resulted in some old binaries or
setups breaking, usually because the kernel got more careful about checking
parameters or because some very system-specific things have changed.
"Normal" user-level binaries are generally not affected, but there are
incompatibilities with some versions of "init", for example, and old
versions of "ps" and "top" are known to have problems with the new kernel.
In order to make the transition smoother, the "Changes" file tries to
point out most of these known problems, along with sites you can get
updated software from. Please read that file before sending in a "bug"
report.
Ok, over to more fun things..
Linux now has a logo thanks to the artistic talents of Larry Ewing, and one
version (the "pretty" version) is included with the kernel. Some people have
told me they don't think a fat penguin really embodies the grace of Linux,
which just tells me they have never seen a angry penguin charging at them in
excess of 100mph. They'd be a lot more careful about what they say if they
had.
As to what has changed since the last stable version (1.2.13).. Umm.. I
haven't used a 1.2.x kernel in a _long_ while, and I don't rightly remember
everything we're doing differently now, but here are the main changes
since 1.2:
- multiarchitecture support. The standard Linux-2.0 kernel directly
supports both intel x86 (and clones) and Digital Alpha machines. Quite
a few other architectures are also very close to being "official".
- multiprocessor support. Yes, you can buy one of those dual Pentium
(or Pentium Pro) motherboards, and Linux will actually take advantage
of multiple CPU's.
- improved filesystem caching, allowing faster cache lookups and caching
of filesystems without any associated block device (notably NFS).
- improved performance in various areas, notably networking and process
handling.
- better support for various devices: support for controllers that 1.2
didn't know about, and improved support for some things that 1.2 had
just started to be aware of.
- writable shared memory mapping support and support for file descriptor
passing with UNIX domain sockets (the two major "normal UNIX" things
that Linux-1.2 didn't have).
The version number jump from 1.2 -> 2.0 is due to the first two major
conceptual changes, while the performance improvements are probably the main
reason for getting a new kernel on hardware that ran 1.2 happily too.
Did I forget something?
Linus
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