Section: Application Domains

Linux

Linux is an open-source operating system that is used in settings ranging from embedded systems to supercomputers. The most recent release of the Linux kernel, v4.14, comprises over 16 million lines of code, and supports 30 different families of CPU architectures, around 50 file systems, and thousands of device drivers. Linux is also in a rapid stage of development, with new versions being released roughly every 2.5 months. Recent versions have each incorporated around 13,500 commits, from around 1500 developers. These developers have a wide range of expertise, with some providing hundreds of patches per release, while others have contributed only one. Overall, the Linux kernel is critical software, but software in which the quality of the developed source code is highly variable. These features, combined with the fact that the Linux community is open to contributions and to the use of tools, make the Linux kernel an attractive target for software researchers. Tools that result from research can be directly integrated into the development of real software, where it can have a high, visible impact.

Starting from the work of Engler et al.  [34], numerous research tools have been applied to the Linux kernel, typically for finding bugs  [32], [50], [61], [72] or for computing software metrics  [39], [78]. In our work, we have studied generic C bugs in Linux code [9], bugs in function protocol usage  [43], [44], issues related to the processing of bug reports  [65] and crash dumps  [38], and the problem of backporting  [60], [73], illustrating the variety of issues that can be explored on this code base. Unique among research groups working in this area, we have furthermore developed numerous contacts in the Linux developer community. These contacts provide insights into the problems actually faced by developers and serve as a means of validating the practical relevance of our work.