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+.. _development_process_intro:
+
+Introduction
+============
+
+Executive summary
+-----------------
+
+The rest of this section covers the scope of the kernel development process
+and the kinds of frustrations that developers and their employers can
+encounter there.  There are a great many reasons why kernel code should be
+merged into the official ("mainline") kernel, including automatic
+availability to users, community support in many forms, and the ability to
+influence the direction of kernel development.  Code contributed to the
+Linux kernel must be made available under a GPL-compatible license.
+
+:ref:`development_process` introduces the development process, the kernel
+release cycle, and the mechanics of the merge window.  The various phases in
+the patch development, review, and merging cycle are covered.  There is some
+discussion of tools and mailing lists.  Developers wanting to get started
+with kernel development are encouraged to track down and fix bugs as an
+initial exercise.
+
+:ref:`development_early_stage` covers early-stage project planning, with an
+emphasis on involving the development community as soon as possible.
+
+:ref:`development_coding` is about the coding process; several pitfalls which
+have been encountered by other developers are discussed.  Some requirements for
+patches are covered, and there is an introduction to some of the tools
+which can help to ensure that kernel patches are correct.
+
+:ref:`development_posting` talks about the process of posting patches for
+review. To be taken seriously by the development community, patches must be
+properly formatted and described, and they must be sent to the right place.
+Following the advice in this section should help to ensure the best
+possible reception for your work.
+
+:ref:`development_followthrough` covers what happens after posting patches; the
+job is far from done at that point.  Working with reviewers is a crucial part
+of the development process; this section offers a number of tips on how to
+avoid problems at this important stage.  Developers are cautioned against
+assuming that the job is done when a patch is merged into the mainline.
+
+:ref:`development_advancedtopics` introduces a couple of "advanced" topics:
+managing patches with git and reviewing patches posted by others.
+
+:ref:`development_conclusion` concludes the document with pointers to sources
+for more information on kernel development.
+
+What this document is about
+---------------------------
+
+The Linux kernel, at over 8 million lines of code and well over 1000
+contributors to each release, is one of the largest and most active free
+software projects in existence.  Since its humble beginning in 1991, this
+kernel has evolved into a best-of-breed operating system component which
+runs on pocket-sized digital music players, desktop PCs, the largest
+supercomputers in existence, and all types of systems in between.  It is a
+robust, efficient, and scalable solution for almost any situation.
+
+With the growth of Linux has come an increase in the number of developers
+(and companies) wishing to participate in its development.  Hardware
+vendors want to ensure that Linux supports their products well, making
+those products attractive to Linux users.  Embedded systems vendors, who
+use Linux as a component in an integrated product, want Linux to be as
+capable and well-suited to the task at hand as possible.  Distributors and
+other software vendors who base their products on Linux have a clear
+interest in the capabilities, performance, and reliability of the Linux
+kernel.  And end users, too, will often wish to change Linux to make it
+better suit their needs.
+
+One of the most compelling features of Linux is that it is accessible to
+these developers; anybody with the requisite skills can improve Linux and
+influence the direction of its development.  Proprietary products cannot
+offer this kind of openness, which is a characteristic of the free software
+process.  But, if anything, the kernel is even more open than most other
+free software projects.  A typical three-month kernel development cycle can
+involve over 1000 developers working for more than 100 different companies
+(or for no company at all).
+
+Working with the kernel development community is not especially hard.  But,
+that notwithstanding, many potential contributors have experienced
+difficulties when trying to do kernel work.  The kernel community has
+evolved its own distinct ways of operating which allow it to function
+smoothly (and produce a high-quality product) in an environment where
+thousands of lines of code are being changed every day.  So it is not
+surprising that Linux kernel development process differs greatly from
+proprietary development methods.
+
+The kernel's development process may come across as strange and
+intimidating to new developers, but there are good reasons and solid
+experience behind it.  A developer who does not understand the kernel
+community's ways (or, worse, who tries to flout or circumvent them) will
+have a frustrating experience in store.  The development community, while
+being helpful to those who are trying to learn, has little time for those
+who will not listen or who do not care about the development process.
+
+It is hoped that those who read this document will be able to avoid that
+frustrating experience.  There is a lot of material here, but the effort
+involved in reading it will be repaid in short order.  The development
+community is always in need of developers who will help to make the kernel
+better; the following text should help you - or those who work for you -
+join our community.
+
+Credits
+-------
+
+This document was written by Jonathan Corbet, corbet@lwn.net.  It has been
+improved by comments from Johannes Berg, James Berry, Alex Chiang, Roland
+Dreier, Randy Dunlap, Jake Edge, Jiri Kosina, Matt Mackall, Arthur Marsh,
+Amanda McPherson, Andrew Morton, Andrew Price, Tsugikazu Shibata, and
+Jochen Voß.
+
+This work was supported by the Linux Foundation; thanks especially to
+Amanda McPherson, who saw the value of this effort and made it all happen.
+
+The importance of getting code into the mainline
+------------------------------------------------
+
+Some companies and developers occasionally wonder why they should bother
+learning how to work with the kernel community and get their code into the
+mainline kernel (the "mainline" being the kernel maintained by Linus
+Torvalds and used as a base by Linux distributors).  In the short term,
+contributing code can look like an avoidable expense; it seems easier to
+just keep the code separate and support users directly.  The truth of the
+matter is that keeping code separate ("out of tree") is a false economy.
+
+As a way of illustrating the costs of out-of-tree code, here are a few
+relevant aspects of the kernel development process; most of these will be
+discussed in greater detail later in this document.  Consider:
+
+- Code which has been merged into the mainline kernel is available to all
+  Linux users.  It will automatically be present on all distributions which
+  enable it.  There is no need for driver disks, downloads, or the hassles
+  of supporting multiple versions of multiple distributions; it all just
+  works, for the developer and for the user.  Incorporation into the
+  mainline solves a large number of distribution and support problems.
+
+- While kernel developers strive to maintain a stable interface to user
+  space, the internal kernel API is in constant flux.  The lack of a stable
+  internal interface is a deliberate design decision; it allows fundamental
+  improvements to be made at any time and results in higher-quality code.
+  But one result of that policy is that any out-of-tree code requires
+  constant upkeep if it is to work with new kernels.  Maintaining
+  out-of-tree code requires significant amounts of work just to keep that
+  code working.
+
+  Code which is in the mainline, instead, does not require this work as the
+  result of a simple rule requiring any developer who makes an API change
+  to also fix any code that breaks as the result of that change.  So code
+  which has been merged into the mainline has significantly lower
+  maintenance costs.
+
+- Beyond that, code which is in the kernel will often be improved by other
+  developers.  Surprising results can come from empowering your user
+  community and customers to improve your product.
+
+- Kernel code is subjected to review, both before and after merging into
+  the mainline.  No matter how strong the original developer's skills are,
+  this review process invariably finds ways in which the code can be
+  improved.  Often review finds severe bugs and security problems.  This is
+  especially true for code which has been developed in a closed
+  environment; such code benefits strongly from review by outside
+  developers.  Out-of-tree code is lower-quality code.
+
+- Participation in the development process is your way to influence the
+  direction of kernel development.  Users who complain from the sidelines
+  are heard, but active developers have a stronger voice - and the ability
+  to implement changes which make the kernel work better for their needs.
+
+- When code is maintained separately, the possibility that a third party
+  will contribute a different implementation of a similar feature always
+  exists.  Should that happen, getting your code merged will become much
+  harder - to the point of impossibility.  Then you will be faced with the
+  unpleasant alternatives of either (1) maintaining a nonstandard feature
+  out of tree indefinitely, or (2) abandoning your code and migrating your
+  users over to the in-tree version.
+
+- Contribution of code is the fundamental action which makes the whole
+  process work.  By contributing your code you can add new functionality to
+  the kernel and provide capabilities and examples which are of use to
+  other kernel developers.  If you have developed code for Linux (or are
+  thinking about doing so), you clearly have an interest in the continued
+  success of this platform; contributing code is one of the best ways to
+  help ensure that success.
+
+All of the reasoning above applies to any out-of-tree kernel code,
+including code which is distributed in proprietary, binary-only form.
+There are, however, additional factors which should be taken into account
+before considering any sort of binary-only kernel code distribution.  These
+include:
+
+- The legal issues around the distribution of proprietary kernel modules
+  are cloudy at best; quite a few kernel copyright holders believe that
+  most binary-only modules are derived products of the kernel and that, as
+  a result, their distribution is a violation of the GNU General Public
+  license (about which more will be said below).  Your author is not a
+  lawyer, and nothing in this document can possibly be considered to be
+  legal advice.  The true legal status of closed-source modules can only be
+  determined by the courts.  But the uncertainty which haunts those modules
+  is there regardless.
+
+- Binary modules greatly increase the difficulty of debugging kernel
+  problems, to the point that most kernel developers will not even try.  So
+  the distribution of binary-only modules will make it harder for your
+  users to get support from the community.
+
+- Support is also harder for distributors of binary-only modules, who must
+  provide a version of the module for every distribution and every kernel
+  version they wish to support.  Dozens of builds of a single module can
+  be required to provide reasonably comprehensive coverage, and your users
+  will have to upgrade your module separately every time they upgrade their
+  kernel.
+
+- Everything that was said above about code review applies doubly to
+  closed-source code.  Since this code is not available at all, it cannot
+  have been reviewed by the community and will, beyond doubt, have serious
+  problems.
+
+Makers of embedded systems, in particular, may be tempted to disregard much
+of what has been said in this section in the belief that they are shipping
+a self-contained product which uses a frozen kernel version and requires no
+more development after its release.  This argument misses the value of
+widespread code review and the value of allowing your users to add
+capabilities to your product.  But these products, too, have a limited
+commercial life, after which a new version must be released.  At that
+point, vendors whose code is in the mainline and well maintained will be
+much better positioned to get the new product ready for market quickly.
+
+Licensing
+---------
+
+Code is contributed to the Linux kernel under a number of licenses, but all
+code must be compatible with version 2 of the GNU General Public License
+(GPLv2), which is the license covering the kernel distribution as a whole.
+In practice, that means that all code contributions are covered either by
+GPLv2 (with, optionally, language allowing distribution under later
+versions of the GPL) or the three-clause BSD license.  Any contributions
+which are not covered by a compatible license will not be accepted into the
+kernel.
+
+Copyright assignments are not required (or requested) for code contributed
+to the kernel.  All code merged into the mainline kernel retains its
+original ownership; as a result, the kernel now has thousands of owners.
+
+One implication of this ownership structure is that any attempt to change
+the licensing of the kernel is doomed to almost certain failure.  There are
+few practical scenarios where the agreement of all copyright holders could
+be obtained (or their code removed from the kernel).  So, in particular,
+there is no prospect of a migration to version 3 of the GPL in the
+foreseeable future.
+
+It is imperative that all code contributed to the kernel be legitimately
+free software.  For that reason, code from anonymous (or pseudonymous)
+contributors will not be accepted.  All contributors are required to "sign
+off" on their code, stating that the code can be distributed with the
+kernel under the GPL.  Code which has not been licensed as free software by
+its owner, or which risks creating copyright-related problems for the
+kernel (such as code which derives from reverse-engineering efforts lacking
+proper safeguards) cannot be contributed.
+
+Questions about copyright-related issues are common on Linux development
+mailing lists.  Such questions will normally receive no shortage of
+answers, but one should bear in mind that the people answering those
+questions are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice.  If you have
+legal questions relating to Linux source code, there is no substitute for
+talking with a lawyer who understands this field.  Relying on answers
+obtained on technical mailing lists is a risky affair.