Linux 4.20-rc1 Kernel Released As The Kernel Hits Its Highest Point For 2018

The next kernel release was either going to be Linux 4.20 or Linux 5.0 and today Linus Torvalds decided it would be the "4.20" kernel version.

Linux 4.20-rc1 was just tagged in Git while keeping to the "People's Front" codename that was introduced with Linux 4.19 final. Sorry, no "420" jokes for the codename at this stage and the kernel changes this merge window are in fact far from being blunt.

Of the version number, Torvalds noted, "So I did debate calling it 5.0, but if we all help each other, I'm sure we can count to 20. It's a nice round number, and I didn't want to make a pattern of it. I think 5.0 happens next year, because then I *really* run out of fingers and toes."

In terms of the Linux 4.20 changes it certainly hits a high point for the year: there is a ton of work that was merged over the past two weeks -- by line count addition, it's the largest kernel since last year's Linux 4.13. More than 350k lines of code is the net addition for this merge window. See my just-published Linux 4.20 feature overview that outlines all of the great changes from improved hardware support to security improvements to prepping for 2019 next-gen PC parts.

For some additional size numbers of this big kernel, when running cloc on the 4.20-rc1 source tree, there are 50,097 files with 17,525,783 detected lines of code, another 3,332,172 lines of comments, and 3,185,230 blank lines... Or all told, 24.04 million lines.

Depending upon how the Linux 4.20 release settles down, the official Linux 4.20.0 release is likely to occur on 30 December or early January contingent upon the number of needed release candidates.

Torvalds' brief 4.20-rc1 announcement can be read on the LKML and our 4.20 feature overview.