• Linux 7.0 Credits Now Honor The Creator Of Linux-Next There’s the usual flurry of last minute fixes and other items being herded into the Linux 7.0 codebase today right ahead of the merge window being closed with the imminent Linux 7.0-rc1 release. • Among that last minute work is now recognizing Stephen Rothwell’s contributions to creating and maintaining Linux-Next over the past eighteen years. • Stephen Rothwell stepped down in mid-January from maintaining Linux-Next. • He still plans to be around the Linux kernel community but a less grueling role than creating and maintaining Linux-Next since 2008. • Linux-Next for those unaware is a testing/queuing area where new patches can be found that are aiming for being submitted for the next kernel merge window. • The various “-next” subsystem Git branches and the like feed into Linux-Next for a leading-edge area where the various latest patches are accumulated before their eventual pull requests to Linus Torvalds as part of the merge windows.
Article Summaries:
- Linux 7.0 is set to ship with a final round of fixes before the release candidate window closes. In the new kernel, the CREDITS file now formally acknowledges Stephen Rothwell for creating and maintaining the Linux‑Next testing tree from 2008 to 2026. Rothwell stepped down in mid‑January, and Mark Brown has taken over the role. Linux‑Next remains a pre‑merge staging area where patches are queued before submission to Linus Torvalds, helping developers coordinate cross‑subsystem changes and users test cutting‑edge code.
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