Liberte, fraternite and Linux

The Linux computer operating system owes its origins to a combination of idealism and a sense of fun. The author reports on how, from such unlikely beginnings, Linux, a robust, highly stable, Unix-compatible OS kernel, with, at a best guess, some 12 million users, has evolved. The secret of Linux's successful development lies in the aspirations of programmers and the communications potential of the Internet. Once Linux got underway there was a ready supply of gifted programmers who were more than willing to contribute to the enterprise. However, this disparate and geographically scattered body of volunteers would never have been able to work so effectively together without the Internet as a medium for communication. It is no coincidence that the take-off of the development of Linux occurred at exactly the time when the number of Internet hosts started to rise exponentially. The Internet didn't simply facilitate communication between Linux developers, it helped instigate a whole new approach to code development. Traditionally, large software projects like an OS kernel are developed in a highly structured manner, with new releases only sanctioned when the members of the development team are confident, or as confident as they can be, that the code is bug free. Linux's development has been characterised by exactly the opposite approach, more a case of 'release early, and release often'-sometimes more than once in the same day.