Linus Torvalds has released Linux 3.12 keeping in line with the Sunday release cycle and has also started brewing plans for Linux 4.0 slated for 2014 end release.
The Linux 3.12 kernel brings in a lot may updates and features including included zRAM, full support for eLLC cache, AMD Berlin APU and Snapdragon DRM/KMS drivers; revised version of SimpleDRM, improvements in the open-source graphics driver section, and upgrades to various Linux file-systems. For more, read Linux 3.12 features.
Torvalds will be travelling most part of the next week because of which he is delaying the opening of Linux 3.13 merge window by a week. Torvalds notes that subsystem maintainers can still go about submitting their 3.13 pull requests; however, they will be acted upon once he is back a week later. The merge window will be open for two weeks.
Torvalds has also started mulling over Linux 4.0 plans. The 4.0 Kernel would neither be a big release not a big jump from what is already going on in the Kernel world, but it will be similar to going from Linux 2.6 to Linux 3.0. Torvalds doesn’t want Linux 3 Kernel to be numbered up until it goes to Linux 3.(some-large-number) and post Linux 3.19 he intends to move to Linux 4.0. The Linux 3.19 to Linux 4.0 jump would take about a year considering that we are still on Linux 3.12.
Further Torvalds also notes that he is intending to do a Kernel release that has nothing but bug fixes. “If we have enough heads-up that people *know* that for one release (and companies/managers know that too) the only patches that get accepted are the kind that fix bugs, maybe people really would have sufficient attention span that it could work”, notes Torvalds in his mailing list announcement.
Linux 4.0 may be the one, Torvalds speculates, but it is still an open matter, which won’t be closed up until sufficient feedback and understanding is garnered on the matter.
