Everyone who has been keeping up with all the latest Linux news knows that the operating system has yet to receive any major updates in 2019. Fortunately, the waiting is now over since Linux 5.0 has been released. This is the biggest update that the open-source Linux kernel received this year and it comes with lots of improvements when compared to Linux 4.0 which was released back in 2015.
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Linux 5.0 is Out
Linus Torvalds is the creator of Linux and he made it loud and clear that he is not excited about the new update. The developer said that he doesn’t see the new update as something important and that in his opinion, the new update only changes the build number to 5.0.
Linux fans were wondering why the operating system jumped straight to the 5.0 number and in his own style, Linus Torvalds made the following statement: “If you want to have an official reason, it’s that I ran out of fingers and toes to count on, so 4.21 became 5.0.”
Updated Kernel
For those who are unfamiliar with the Linux kernel, this is the core set of capabilities that enable the operating system alongside its networking, CPU, memory and storage drivers. One of the most important things that the new update introduces is support for the Adiantum encryption system which has been developed by Google to help low-power devices. In addition, Google’s Chrome desktop operating system and Android mobile operating system rely on the Linux kernel.
Memory Fragmentation
Furthermore, Linux 5.0 also introduces improvements that help prevent and avoid memory fragmentation which reduces the overall performances. “Given sufficient time or an adverse workload, memory gets fragmented and the long-term success of high-order allocations degrades,” added Mel Gorman who is a Linux developer in his code commit message.