After the release of the stable version of Linux Kernel 5.7, it was the turn of the new version v5.8. For the same reason, recently, Linus Torvalds, announced the beta version of Linux Kernel 5.8. He also mentioned that during the Merge window of the new version, it received one of the largest numbers of improvements and changes in the history of Linux Kernel.
More specifically, v5.8-rc1 is considered the second largest Linux kernel release, as it contains around 14,000 non-merge commits, 800,000 lines of new code, and almost 14,000 file (which make up 20% of all kernel repository files). However, the large numbers are not enough to claim the top spot, which still belongs to Linux Kernel 4.9.
What changes are there in Linux kernel 5.8?
This release mainly includes filesystem changes, some improvements , and some cleanups. In addition to what we just mentioned, the new release also offers security improvements, support for newer hardware, and updates to the Intel/Radeon graphics driver.
Below, you can see some more of the changes that were made during the merge window:
- Improvements to the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver.
- SELinux updates.
- General notification queue.
- Power Management improvements.
- Mapping the Fn and Ctrl keys on Apple keyboards.
- Added support for Tiger Lake Thunderbolt.
- Added support for the Habana Labs Gaudi accelerator.
- Some Btrfs changes.
- Several cleanups and fixes for EXT4 and exFAT systems.
- Support for POWER10 processors.
According to Linus Torvalds, the kernel development team is already working on the next beta version of the kernel. When asked when we can expect the stable version of Linux Kernel 5.8, he replied that it will be released in early August.
