“As we approach the end of this year, we mark approximately one
year since the release of kernel version 2.2. Linux 2.2 was a
significant improvement over the 2.0 kernels. Some of the many new
features found in 2.2 were multiple supported filesystems,
increased scalability, better caching in the virtual file system,
support for miscellaneous binaries and infrared devices.
Approaching on the horizon is not just a new year, but the next
Linux kernel version, 2.4. As I write this, the development kernels
are up to version 2.3.19 and are in a state of “feature freeze”.
Therefore, no new features are going to be added to the kernel and
the goal of the developers now is to clean up the current code and
get it ready for production use and widespread distribution.”
“Kernel 2.4 is not as much of a step up from 2.2 as the 2.2
kernels were from the 2.0 kernels. This article is an attempt
to provide some information to those who are wondering what exactly
is “over the horizon” in regards to the new kernel version.
This is the first in a series of articles which will cover a
variety of different subsystems that have undergone overhaul and
had many (some not so many) features added….”
“The Linux kernel is the heart of the operating system. As with
any UNIX flavor, the kernel provides the necessary resource
allocations, the virtual filesystem layer, memory management,
process management, and low-level drivers for working with the
hardware. It is this kernel which drives the system. With the
upcoming release of version 2.4, the Linux kernel has truly come
into its own.”