14 DAY TRIAL // Linux kernel 3.19 RC4 has been released by Linus Torvalds and it looks like this is one of the few versions made available in the past year or so that will arrive on schedule and without any drama.
When you're talking about the Linux kernel, the word drama has different connotations. In this case it usually means that some last-minute problems delayed an RC or that some release candidates were a little too big for Linus' preferences. In any case, the current iteration of the kernel seems to be right on track and things are moving as planned.
One of the reasons why that doesn't happen all that often is that pound for pound, the Linux kernel project is the probably the biggest collaboration effort on the planet. There are thousands of developers and millions of lines of code submitted each year. Nothing even comes close. It's easy to understand why the release of a particular version would be delayed for a week.
Linux kernel 3.19 is ordinary and that's a good thing
The latest RC for the kernel is a pretty regular one and it's nothing out of the ordinary, with a couple of exceptions. Things are progressing nicely and we might get the final version for this branch in the next month or so.
"Things have remained reasonably calm, although we also had a few last-minute MM regressions. Happily, most of them got fixed really quickly, with one remaining arm64 issue still pending. So go forth and test some more. I'll be traveling for the next two weeks due to LCA, but I should have internet, and if things continue to be reasonably calm I don't think that my travel should be all that noticeable. Finally the timing worked out, unlike several releases last year," wrote Linus Torvalds on the mailing list.
You can download the Linux kernel 3.19 RC4 from Softpedia. This is the source package and that means that you will have to compile it yourself, a task that shouldn't be attempted unless you really know what you're doing.