linux kerne新版本编号？

今天看到linux内核版本号都到3.4了，心中非常惊讶，为什么现在版本飞这么快了，于是一番google,终于找到了两篇文章，大家可以看看

Linux kernel version bumped up to 3.0 as 20th birthday approaches

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2011/07/linux-kernel-version-bumped-up-to-30-as-20th-birthday-approaches/

Linus Torvalds has announced the release of version 3.0 of the Linux kernel. Although the version bump, which takes the kernel straight from 2.6.39 to 3.0, suggests a release of some significance, it's actually a fairly modest incremental update.

Torvalds wanted to increment the major version number because he was growing frustrated with the large minor version numbers. He has been contemplating some changes to the current versioning scheme since 2008, but finally decided to act in May when the first release candidate for the new version was published.

He felt that rolling over to 3.0 would be a fitting way to celebrate the kernel's imminent 20th anniversary, but also joked that the "real" reason was that he could "no longer comfortably count as high as 40." He further clarified the nature of the version bump in the final release announcement, which was posted late last night to the Linux kernel mailing list.

"As already mentioned several times, there are no special landmark features or incompatibilities related to the version number change," wrote Torvalds. "It's simply a way to drop an inconvenient numbering system in honor of twenty years of Linux."

The Linux kernel was first introduced to the world in a mailing list post Torvalds wrote on August 25, 1991. The code was published on an FTP server the following month and released under the GNU General Public License the next year. The Linux Foundation is planning to officially observe the kernel's 20th anniversary at the LinuxCon event next month in Vancouver. I'm going to be there in person (you can see me at the LinuxCon Media Roundtable session) to participate in the festivities and cover some of the keynotes.

The previous versioning scheme for the 2.6.x series emerged around 2005 from the kernel's transition to shorter time-based release cycles. The major and minor version numbers were pinned at 2.6 and the third digit was used to indicate the actual release. With the new model, the major version is pinned at 3 and the second digit will be used to indicate the actual release number and the third digit will be used for stable releases.(这个就是新版本编号的含义)

"This obviously also opens the merge window for the next kernel, which will be 3.1. The stable team will take the third digit, so 3.0.1 will be the first stable release based on 3.0," Torvalds explained in the release announcement.

Version 3.0 brings some noteworthy improvements for Btrfs, the next-generation Linux filesystem. It has gained basic support for scrubbing and an automatic defragmentation mechanism that can operate while the filesystem is in use. Another interesting change is the introduction of a just-in-time compiler that has been developed for the Berkeley Packet Filter system. In addition to these enhancements, there are a number of minor improvements throughout the kernel. For more details about the release, you can refer to the release report at the Kernel Newbies website.

Linus Torvalds releases Linux kernel version 3 to celebrate 20 years of penguin-powered computing

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/30/linus-torvalds-releases-linux-kernel-version-3-to-celebrate-20-y/

It's been nearly twenty years since  Linus Torvalds  let loose Linux on an unsuspecting world, and yesterday he finally updated the open source OS kernel to version 3.0. This third iteration, currently named 3.0.0-rc1, comes 15 years after 2.0 first hit the web and brings driver support for  Microsoft Kinect  -- a move that should have visions of sugar plum fairies (or maybe just  Android avatars ) dancing in hackers' heads. Also included is code optimized for  AMD's Fusion  and Intel's  Ivy  and  Sandy Bridge silicon, and some updated graphics drivers, too. Despite these tasty new treats, Torvalds is quick to point out that this new release is an evolutionary change and unleashing the big three-oh was all about moving into a third decade of distribution, not about overhauling the OS. There's still work to be done, as it is a release candidate in need of refinement, but curious coders can grab the latest Linux at the Kernel.org  source link below.