Is the Linux kernel getting bogged down by bugs?

Andrew Morton, the lead maintainer of the Linux production kernel, is worried that an increasing number of defects are appearing in the 2.6 kernel and is considering drastic action to resolve it.

In a talk at the LinuxTag conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Friday, Morton said: "I believe the 2.6 kernel is slowly getting buggier. It seems we're adding bugs at a higher rate than we're fixing them."

Morton admitted he hasn't yet proved this statistically but said he's noticed he is getting more emails with bug reports. If he is able to confirm the increasing defect rate, he may temporarily halt the kernel development process to spend time resolving bugs.

He said: "A little action item I've given myself is to confirm that this increasing defect rate is really happening. If it is, we need to do something about it. Kernel developers will need to reapportion their time and spend more time fixing bugs. We may possibly have a bug-fix only kernel cycle, which is purely for fixing up long-standing bugs."

One problem is that few developers are motivated to work on bugs, according to Morton. This is particularly a problem for bugs that affect old computers or peripherals, as kernel developers working for corporations don't tend to care about out-of-date hardware, he said. Nowadays, many kernel developers are employed by IT companies, such as hardware manufacturers, which can cause problems as they can mainly be motivated by self-interest.

Morton said: "If you're a company that employs a kernel maintainer, you don't have an interest in working on a five-year-old peripheral that no one is selling any more. I can understand that but it is a problem as people are still using that hardware. The presence of that bug affects the whole kernel process, and can hold up the kernel - as there are bugs but no one is fixing them."

Ingrid Marson writes for ZDNet UK