LinuxCon To Highlight How Linux Has Changed In Its 25 Years

The idea of a unikernel is particularly interesting in that it is essentially a purpose-built kernel to run an application. Docker Inc. acquired Unikernel Systems in January and has been building out the technology.

The wider world that Linux enables is core to the modern mission of the Linux Foundation and is exemplified by the Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects.

With the Collaborative Projects, the Linux Foundation helps foster a vendor-neutral home for open-source development projects. One such project is the Hyperledger Project, which uses blockchain technology to help validate transactions. Brian Behlendorf, executive director of the HyperLedger, is set to deliver a keynote at LinuxCon detailing the project’s current progress.

Additionally, LinuxCon plays host to multiple co-located events from Linux Foundation Collaborative Project members, including Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Day, Xen Project Developer Summit, KVM Forum and an OPNFV Hackfest.

Linux Beyond Linus Torvalds

When Linus Torvalds first got started on Linux 25 years ago, it was all about the kernel. For Torvalds today, in conversation after conversation, he will almost always reiterate that the kernel is still his primary focus.

The difference between Linux today and Linux 25 years ago is that Linux is about much more than just Torvalds, or even the Linux kernel. Linux today is about the wider world that Linux enables. It’s a world where the collaborative development model that Linux pioneered has been extended into every realm of software development.

Ten years ago, when I first met Jim Zemlin, his message was about trying to prevent the fragmentation of Linux by having the Linux Standards Base. While fragmentation is still a concern, it’s no longer at the top of the list for Linux. Today Linux and the wider ecosystem it helps enable is the basis of the modern world, from the internet of things to smart phones, servers and everything in between.

As Zemlin has said many times in his state of Linux address at LinuxCon events over the years, “Linux is awesome.”

Originally published on eWeek

Quiz: What do you know about Linux?