Linux 4.0 is almost upon us! It’s codenamed “Hurr durr I’ma sheep.” Yes, seriously. Linux kernels have weird codenames.
Setting aside the head-scratching title, Linux 4.0 isn’t a massive change from Linux 3.19. It would have been named Linux 3.20, but lots of people wanted to see Linux 4.0. As Linus Torvalds himself said, “the strongest argument for some people advocating 4.0 seems to have been a wish to see 4.1.15 – because ‘that was the version of Linux Skynet used for the T-800 Terminator.’”
Reboot-free kernel patching
The biggest feature (aside from dragging us ever closer to the robotic hellscape seen in the Terminator series) is live kernel patching. When an update—perhaps a critical security update—is issued for the Linux kernel, this technology would allow the operating system to swap out its running kernel without a reboot. It might sound like a minor time-saver, but it’s actually a huge deal for mission-critical servers that need maximum uptime.