Linux Foundation

Last updated
The Linux Foundation
Predecessor
Formation2000;24 years ago (2000)
Type 501(c)(6) organization
Purpose Open-source software
Headquarters San Francisco, California, U.S.
Membership1,000+ corporate members [1]
Employees150
Website www.linuxfoundation.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Linux Foundation (LF) is a non-profit organization established in 2000 to support Linux development and open-source software projects. [2]

Contents

Background

The Linux Foundation started as Open Source Development Labs in 2000 to standardize and promote the open-source operating system kernel Linux. [3] It merged with Free Standards Group in 2007. The foundation has since evolved to promote open-source projects beyond the Linux OS as a "foundation of foundations" that hosts a variety of projects spanning topics such as cloud, networking, blockchain, and hardware. [4] The foundation also hosts annual educational events among the Linux community, including the Linux Kernel Developers Summit and the Open Source Summit. [5] [6]

Projects

As of September 2015, the total economic value of the development costs of Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects was estimated at $5 billion. [7]

Project NameDescription
AllJoyn AllJoyn is an open-source software framework that allows compatible devices and applications to find each other, communicate, and collaborate across the boundaries of product category, platform, brand, and connection type.
Automotive Grade LinuxAutomotive Grade Linux is a collaborative open-source project developing a Linux-based, open platform for the connected car that can serve as the de facto standard for the industry. Although initially focused on In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI), the AGL roadmap includes instrument clusters, heads-up displays, telematics, and autonomous driving. [8] [ better source needed ] The goals of AGL are to provide:
  • An automotive-focused core Linux operating system stack that meets common and shared requirements of the automotive ecosystem
  • A transparent, collaborative, and open environment for Automotive OEMs, Tier One suppliers, and their semiconductor and software vendors to create in-vehicle software
  • A collective voice for working with other open-source projects and developing new open-source solutions
  • An embedded Linux distribution that enables rapid prototyping for developers new to Linux or teams with prior open source experience [9]
Carrier Grade LinuxCarrier Grade Linux is a set of specifications that detail standards of availability, scalability, manageability, and service response characteristics which must be met for Linux kernel-based operating system to be considered carrier grade.
Cloud Foundry Cloud Foundry is an open-source, multi-cloud application platform as a service governed by the Cloud Foundry Foundation.
Cloud Native Computing Foundation The Cloud Native Computing Foundation was founded in 2015 to help advance container technology and align the tech industry around its evolution.
Continuous Delivery Foundation The Continuous Delivery Foundation is an open-source community improving the world's ability to deliver software with security and speed.
Core Infrastructure Initiative The Core Infrastructure Initiative was announced on 25 April 2014 in the wake of the Heartbleed security vulnerability to fund and support free and open-source software projects that are critical to the functioning of the Internet.
Data Plane Development Kit The Data Plane Development Kit provides a set of libraries and network interface controller polling-mode drivers to accelerate CPU architecture-running packet processing workloads.
EdgeX FoundryEdgeX Foundry is a vendor-neutral open-source platform providing a common framework for industrial IoT edge computing.
FinOps FoundationThe FinOps Foundation is dedicated to advancing people who practice the discipline of cloud financial management through best practices, education, and standards. [10]
FRRouting FRRouting is an IP routing protocol suite for Unix and Linux platforms.
Hyperledger The Hyperledger project is a global, open-source effort based on advancing cross-industry blockchain technologies.
IoTivity The IoTivity is an open-source framework created to standardize inter-device connections for the IoT.
JanusGraph JanusGraph is an open-source, graph database supporting global graph data analytics, reporting, and ETL.
LF AI & DataThe LF AI & Data Foundation is a project of The Linux Foundation that supports open-source innovation in artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and data open-source projects. [11]
Linux Standard Base The Linux Standard Base was a joint project by several Linux distributions to standardize the software system structure.
ONOS Open Network Operating System is an open-source community to brings software-defined networking to communications service providers to make networks more agile for mobile and data center applications.
OpenAPI Specification OpenAPI Specification is a specification for a machine-readable interface definition language for describing, producing, consuming and visualizing web services.
OpenBMC The OpenBMC project is a collaborative open-source project whose goal is to produce an open-source implementation of the Baseboard Management Controllers (BMC) Firmware Stack. [12] [13]
OpenChainThe OpenChain Project aims to define effective open-source software compliance in software supply chains. A key output is the ISO/IEC 5230 standard.
Open Container Initiative In 2015, Docker & CoreOS launched the Open Container Initiative in partnership with The Linux Foundation to create a set of industry standards in the open around container formats and runtime. [14]
OpenDaylight Project The OpenDaylight project is an open-source platform for Software-Defined Networking (SDN) that uses open protocols to provide centralized, programmatic control and network device monitoring. It aims to accelerate the adoption of SDN and Network Functions Virtualization in service providers, enterprises, and research networks. [15]
OpenJS Foundation OpenJS Foundation hosts projects and funds activities to support the long-term sustainability of the JavaScript and web ecosystem as a whole. [16]
Open Source Security Foundation The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) works towards a collaborative effort to improve the security of the open-source software ecosystem. [17]
Open Mainframe Project The Open Mainframe Project is a Collaborative Project to encourage the use of Linux-based operating systems and open-source software on mainframe computers.
OpenPrintingOpenPrinting develops IPP-based printing technology for Linux- and Unix-based operating systems.
Open vSwitch Originally created at Nicira before moving to VMware (and eventually the Linux Foundation), OvS is an open source virtual switch supporting standard management interfaces and protocols. [18]
ONAP The Open Network Automation Platform is the result of OPEN-O and Open ECOMP projects merging in April 2017. The platform allows end users to design, manage, and automate services and virtual functions.
OPNFV The Open Platform for Network Function Virtualization (NFV) "aims to be a carrier-grade, integrated platform that introduces new products and services to the industry more quickly." [19] In 2016, the project began an internship program, created a working group and an "End User Advisory Group"
Overture Maps Foundation In mid-December 2022, the foundation announced the launch of a new mapping collaboration, the Overture Maps Foundation. Its founding members were Amazon Web Services (AWS), Meta, Microsoft and TomTom. [20] [21] [22] It is intended to be complementary to the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap (OSM) project and the foundation encourages members to contribute data directly to OSM. [23]
PyTorch Foundation The PyTorch Foundation [24] Originally incubated by Meta’s AI team, PyTorch has grown to include a massive community of contributors and users under their community-focused stewardship.
RethinkDB After RethinkDB announced its shutdown as a business, [25] the Linux Foundation announced that it had purchased the intellectual property under its Cloud Native Computing Foundation project, which was then relicensed under the Apache License (ASLv2). [26] RethinkDB describes itself as "the first open-source, scalable JSON database built from the ground up for the realtime web." [27]
RISC-V The RISC-V International association [28] is chartered to standardize and promote the open RISC-V instruction set architecture together with its hardware and software ecosystem for use in all computing devices.
seL4 seL4 is the only microkernel in existence which has been developed using formal verification techniques. It belongs to the L4 microkernel family and was, like the other L4 microkernels, designed to attain great security and performance. [29]
Servo Servo is a browser engine developed to take advantage of the memory safety properties and concurrency features of the Rust programming language. [30] It was originally developed by Mozilla and later donated to the Linux Foundation.
Software Package Data Exchange The Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) project was started in 2010, to create a standard format for communicating the components, licenses, and copyrights associated with software packages. [31] As part of the project, there is a team that curates the SPDX License List, which defines a list of identifiers for commonly found licenses and exceptions used for open source and other collaborative software. [32]
Tizen Tizen is a free and open-source, standards-based software platform supported by leading mobile operators, device manufacturers, and silicon suppliers for multiple device categories such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, in-vehicle infotainment devices, and smart TVs.
TLA+ The TLA+ Foundation [33] manages the development of TLA+. TLA+ is a formal specification language for modeling programs and systems, especially concurrent and distributed ones.
Xen Project The Xen Project team is a global open-source community that develops the Xen Hypervisor, and contributes to the Linux PVOPS framework, the Xen® Cloud Platform, and Xen® ARM.
Yocto Project The Yocto Project [34] is an open source collaboration project that provides templates, tools and methods to help create custom Linux-based systems for embedded products regardless of the hardware architecture. It was founded in 2010 as a collaboration among many hardware manufacturers, open-source operating systems vendors, and electronics companies to bring some order to the chaos of embedded Linux development.
Zephyr Project Zephyr is a small real-time operating system for connected, resource-constrained devices supporting multiple architectures. It was developed as an open-source collaboration project and released under the Apache License 2.0. Zephyr became a project of the Linux Foundation in February 2016.
Open Mobile HubOpen Mobile Hub (OMH) ecosystem initiative launched in September 2023 is an open-source services framework platform designed to simplify and enhance mobile app development across diverse environments. OMH streamlines app development by providing a single set of APIs that can support any Android, iOS, HarmonyOS and Oniro OS device with OMH plugins to support account login systems, mapping services systems, and wide range backend services creating greater compatibility and interoperability of apps by developers. [35]

Community stewardship

For the Linux kernel community, the Linux Foundation hosts its IT infrastructure and organizes conferences such as the Linux Kernel Summit and the Linux Plumbers Conference. It also hosts a Technical Advisory Board made up of Linux kernel developers. One of these developers has been appointed to sit on the Linux Foundation board.

Goodwill partnership

In January 2016, the Linux Foundation announced a partnership with Goodwill Central Texas to help hundreds of disadvantaged individuals from underserved communities and a variety of backgrounds get the training they need to start careers in Linux IT. [36]

Community Specification

In July 2020, the Linux Foundation announced an initiative allowing open-source communities to create Open Standards using tools and methods inspired by open-source developers. [37]

Core Infrastructure Initiative

The Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII), is a project managed by the Linux Foundation that enables technology companies, industry stakeholders, and esteemed developers to collaboratively identify and fund critical open-source projects in need of assistance. In June 2015, the organization announced financial support of nearly $500,000 for three new projects to better support critical security elements of the global information infrastructure. [38] In May 2016, CII launched its Best Practice Badge program to raise awareness of development processes and project governance steps that will help projects have better security outcomes. In May 2017, CII issued its 100th badge to a passing project. [39]

Community Data License Agreement (CDLA)

Introduced in October 2017, [40] the Community Data License Agreement (CDLA) is a legal framework for sharing data. [41] There are two initial CDLA licenses:

Linux.com

On March 3, 2009, the Linux Foundation announced that they would take over the management of Linux.com from its previous owners, SourceForge, Inc. [42]

The site was relaunched on May 13, 2009, shifting away from its previous incarnation as a news site to become a central source for Linux tutorials, information, software, documentation, and answers across the server, desktop/netbook, mobile, and embedded areas. It also includes a directory of Linux software and hardware. [43]

Much like Linux itself, Linux.com plans to rely on the community to create and drive content and conversation.

Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH)

In 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Linux Foundation announced the LFPH, [44] a program dedicated to advancing and supporting the virus contact tracing work led by Google and Apple and their Bluetooth notification systems. The LFPH is focusing its efforts on public health applications, including the effort's first initiative: a notification app intended for governments wanting to launch their privacy-focused exposure notification networks. As of today, LFPH hosts two contact-tracing apps. [45]

LF Climate Finance Foundation

In September 2020, The Linux Foundation announced the LF Climate Finance Foundation (LFCF), a new initiative "to encourage investment in AI-enhanced open source analytics to address climate change." [46] LFCF plans to build a platform that will utilize open-source open data to help the financial investment, NGO, and academia sectors to help better model companies’ exposure to climate change. [47] Allianz, Amazon, Microsoft, and S&P Global will be the initiative's founding members. [48]

LF Energy

LF Energy is an initiative launched by the Linux Foundation in 2018 to improve the power grid. [49] [50]

Linus Torvalds at LinuxCon North America 2016 LinuxconNorthAmerica2016.jpg
Linus Torvalds at LinuxCon North America 2016

Training and certification

The Linux Foundation Training Program features instructors and content from the leaders of the Linux developer and open-source communities. [51]

Participants receive Linux training that is vendor-neutral and created with oversight from leaders of the Linux development community. The Linux Foundation's online and in-person training programs aim to deliver broad, foundational knowledge and networking opportunities.

In March 2014, the Linux Foundation and edX partnered to offer a free, massive open online class titled Introduction to Linux. [52] This was the first in a series of ongoing free offerings from both organizations whose current catalogue of MOOCs include Intro to DevOps, Intro to Cloud Foundry and Cloud Native Software Architecture, Intro to Apache Hadoop, Intro to Cloud Infrastructure Technologies, and Intro to OpenStack. [53]

In December 2015, the Linux Foundation introduced a self-paced course designed to help prepare administrators for the OpenStack Foundation's Certified OpenStack Administrator exam. [54]

As part of a partnership with Microsoft, it was announced in December 2015 that the Linux on Azure certification would be awarded to individuals who pass both the Microsoft Exam 70-533 (Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions) and the Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS) exam. [55]

In early 2017, at the annual Open Source Leadership Summit, it was announced that the Linux Foundation would begin offering an Inclusive Speaker Orientation course in partnership with the National Center for Women & Information Technology. The course is designed to give participants "practical skills to promote inclusivity in their presentations." [56]

In September 2020, the Linux Foundation released a free serverless computing training course with CNCF. It is taught by Alex Ellis, founder of OpenFaaS. [57]

Among many other organizations with similar offerings, The Linux Foundation has reported a 40% increase in demand for their online courses in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting social-distancing measures. [58]

Patent Commons Project

The patent commons consists of all patented software which has been made available to the open source community. For software to be considered to be in the commons the patent owner must guarantee that developers will not be sued for infringement, though there may be some restrictions on the use of the patented code. The concept was first given substance by Red Hat in 2001 when it published its Patent Promise. [59]

The Patent Commons Project was launched on November 15, 2005, by the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL). The core of the project is an online patent commons reference library aggregating and documenting information about patent-related pledges and other legal solutions directed at the open-source software community. As of 2015, the project listed 53 patents. [60]

Open Compliance Program

The Linux Foundation's Open Compliance Program provides an array of programs for open-source software licensing compliance. The focus of this initiative is to educate and assist developers (and their companies) on licensing requirements, to make it easier to create new software. The program consists primarily of self-administered training modules, but it is also meant to include automated tools to help programmatically identify license compliance issues. [61]

Funding

Funding for the Linux Foundation comes primarily from its Platinum Members, who pay US$500,000 per year according to Schedule A in LF's bylaws, [62] adding up to US$7.5 million. [63] The Gold Members contribute a combined total of US$1.2 million and Silver members contribute between US$5,000 and US$20,000 based on the amount of employees, summing up to at least US$6,240,000. [64]

As of June 2024, the foundation collected annual fees worth at least US$14,940,000. [65]

Use of donations

By early 2018, the Linux Foundation's website stated that it "uses [donations] in part to help fund the infrastructure and fellows (like Linus Torvalds) who help develop the Linux kernel." [66]

Sub-organizations

Linux Foundation Europe

The Linux Foundation established the Linux Foundation Europe, with its headquarter located in Brussels, on September 14, 2022, with the aim of promoting open source throughout Europe. Linux Foundation Europe will increase open collaborative activities for all European stakeholders, including citizens, the public sector, and the private sector. Among the first members of the Linux Foundation Europe are Ericsson, Accenture, Alliander, Avast, Bosch, BTP, esatus AG, NXP Semiconductors, RTE, SAP, SUSE S.A., TomTom, Bank of England, OpenForum Europe, OpenUK, and the Research Institutes of Sweden. The Linux Foundation Europe will make it possible for open collaborative projects to be housed on European soil. [67] [68] The first initiative is the Open Wallet Foundation (OWF), which aims to create an interoperable engine for digital wallets that supports payment processing, identity verification, and storing verified credentials including employment, education, financial status, and entitlements was launched on 23 February 2023. Accenture, Gen Digital, Futurewei Technologies, Visa Inc., American Express, Deutsche Telekom / T-Systems, esatus AG, Fynbos, Hopae, IAMX, IDnow, IndyKite, Intesi Group, Ping Identity, Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), Digital Dollar Project, Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ), Digital Identity and Data Sovereignty Association (DIDAS), DizmeID Foundation (DIZME), Hyperledger Foundation, Information Technologies and Telematics Institute / Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH/ITI), Johannes Kepler University Linz, ID2020, IDunion SCE, Mifos Initiative, MIT Connection Science, Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), OpenID Foundation, Open Identity Exchange (OIX), Secure Identity Alliance (SIA), University of Rovira i Virgili, and the Trust Over IP Foundation (ToIP) are the inaugural members. [69] [70]

The Linux Foundation Europe started the RISC-V Software Ecosystem (RISE) initiative on May 31, 2023. The goal of RISE is to increase the availability of software for high-performance and power-efficient RISC-V processors running high-level operating systems for a range of market segments by bringing together a large number of hardware and software vendors. Red Hat, Samsung, Qualcomm, Nvidia, MediaTek, Intel, and Google are among the initial members. [71]

Linux Foundation India

During KubeCon + CloudNativeCon India in New Delhi, the Linux Foundation announced the opening of Linux Foundation India on 11 December 2024, which will work on subjects including blockchain, security, Edge/IoT, cloud native technologies, telecommunications, and domain-specific artificial intelligence. [72] [73] In India, the need for open-source technology has increased by 42% in 2023 as a result of the Linux Foundation's partnership with the International Startup Foundation (ISF). They are also collaborating with the open source networking company OpenNets. [74] [75] Through the LF Decentralized Trust, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) are utilizing Linux Foundation's projects to build the National Blockchain Framework and Digital Rupee. [76] [75] The Linux Foundation India will launch projects that will be introduced straight upstream into the Linux Foundation further facilitating ongoing technological collaborations between the Federal Government of the United States and the Government of India, in contrast to the Linux Foundation Europe and Linux Foundation Japan, which focus on region-specific open source projects because of governmental constraints. Linux Foundation India will provide open source contributors to the Linux Foundation's sub-organizations. [77] [75]

Criticism

On October 18, 2024, renowned kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman submitted a patch to the Linux Kernel Mailing List that removed "some" kernel developers from their roles as maintainers. These were 11 developers whose email addresses and names suggested a connection to Russia. [78]

The patch was accepted without the usual quality assurance measures, such as code reviews, and included only a vague justification for relieving the developers from their respecting positions as maintainers.

To the growing numbers of messages expressing a mixture of surprise and outrage related to the lack of transparency surrounding the situation and concern over whether the political independence of the Linux kernel was still being maintained, Linus Torvalds blatantly responded that the reasons for this would in fact be clear, and added that, as a Finn, he did not support Russian aggression. Furthermore, he insinuated that people opposing this patch are either Russian trolls, or have been riled up by Russian state-sponsored media and revert of this patch will not be accepted. [79]

At least one other maintainer, who had criticized this unusual approach, claimed to have been blocked from the mailing list. [80]

It wasn’t until October 24 that James Bottomley, a kernel developer, issued an apology for the intransparent handling of the situation and clarified that the action was a consequence of U.S. sanctions against Russia. According to Bottomley, developers who were allegedly employed by sanctioned companies could no longer serve as maintainers, even in a purely volunteer role. [81] While some of the volunteer programmers were indeed employed by Russian companies, this was not even true for others, sparking a discussion about this being a case of discrimination against individuals rather than just a compliance issue.

For example, one of the affected kernel maintainers had been employed by Amazon Web Services for several years up to that point. [82]

The Linux Foundation has remained entirely silent on the incident, despite questions about whether the handling of the Russian developers, and particularly Torvalds’ statements, aligns with their Code of Conduct, which includes a commitment to respectful behavior and avoidance of demeaning communication, as well as an explicit prohibition of discrimination. [83]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free software</span> Software licensed to be freely used, modified and distributed

Free software, libre software, libreware sometimes known as freedom-respecting software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, not price; all users are legally free to do what they want with their copies of a free software regardless of how much is paid to obtain the program. Computer programs are deemed "free" if they give end-users ultimate control over the software and, subsequently, over their devices.

The free software movement is a social movement with the goal of obtaining and guaranteeing certain freedoms for software users, namely the freedoms to run, study, modify, and share copies of software. Software which meets these requirements, The Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software, is termed free software.

Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) was a non-profit organization supported by a consortium to promote Linux for enterprise computing. Founded in 2000, OSDL positioned itself as an independent, non-profit lab for developers who are adding enterprise capabilities to Linux. The headquarters was first incorporated in San Francisco but later relocated to Beaverton in Oregon with second facility in Yokohama, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNU Project</span> Free software project

The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and computing devices by collaboratively developing and publishing software that gives everyone the rights to freely run the software, copy and distribute it, study it, and modify it. GNU software grants these rights in its license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hat Enterprise Linux</span> Linux distribution developed by Red Hat

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial open-source Linux distribution developed by Red Hat for the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a desktop version for x86-64. Fedora Linux and CentOS Stream serve as its upstream sources. All of Red Hat's official support and training, together with the Red Hat Certification Program, focuses on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FOSDEM</span> Annual event in Brussels centered on free and open source software development

Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM) is a non-commercial, volunteer-organized European event centered on free and open-source software development. It is aimed at developers and anyone interested in the free and open-source software movement. It aims to enable developers to meet and to promote the awareness and use of free and open-source software.

Wind River Systems, Inc., also known as Wind River, is an Alameda, California–based company, subsidiary of Aptiv PLC. The company develops embedded system and cloud software consisting of real-time operating systems software, industry-specific software, simulation technology, development tools and middleware.

The Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) is a free and open-source software license, produced by Sun Microsystems, based on the Mozilla Public License (MPL). Files licensed under the CDDL can be combined with files licensed under other licenses, whether open source or proprietary. In 2005 the Open Source Initiative approved the license. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) considers it a free software license, but one which is incompatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free and open-source software</span> Software whose source code is available and which is permissively licensed

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that is available under a license that grants the right to use, modify, and distribute the software, modified or not, to everyone free of charge. The public availability of the source code is, therefore, a necessary but not sufficient condition. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term for free software and open-source software. FOSS is in contrast to proprietary software, where the software is under restrictive copyright or licensing and the source code is hidden from the users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free and open-source graphics device driver</span> Software that controls computer-graphics hardware

A free and open-source graphics device driver is a software stack which controls computer-graphics hardware and supports graphics-rendering application programming interfaces (APIs) and is released under a free and open-source software license. Graphics device drivers are written for specific hardware to work within a specific operating system kernel and to support a range of APIs used by applications to access the graphics hardware. They may also control output to the display if the display driver is part of the graphics hardware. Most free and open-source graphics device drivers are developed by the Mesa project. The driver is made up of a compiler, a rendering API, and software which manages access to the graphics hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of free and open-source software</span>

The history of free and open-source software begins at the advent of computer software in the early half of the 20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, computer operating software and compilers were delivered as a part of hardware purchases without separate fees. At the time, source code—the human-readable form of software—was generally distributed with the software, providing the ability to fix bugs or add new functions. Universities were early adopters of computing technology. Many of the modifications developed by universities were openly shared, in keeping with the academic principles of sharing knowledge, and organizations sprung up to facilitate sharing.

Opposition to software patents is widespread in the free software community. In response, various mechanisms have been tried to defuse the perceived problem.

Linux began in 1991 as a personal project by Finnish student Linus Torvalds to create a new free operating system kernel. The resulting Linux kernel has been marked by constant growth throughout its history. Since the initial release of its source code in 1991, it has grown from a small number of C files under a license prohibiting commercial distribution to the 4.15 version in 2018 with more than 23.3 million lines of source code, not counting comments, under the GNU General Public License v2 with a syscall exception meaning anything that uses the kernel via system calls are not subject to the GNU GPL.

Linaro is an engineering organization that works on free and open-source software such as the Linux kernel, the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), QEMU, power management, graphics and multimedia interfaces for the ARM family of instruction sets and implementations thereof as well as for the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA). The company provides a collaborative engineering forum for companies to share engineering resources and funding to solve common problems on ARM software. In addition to Linaro's collaborative engineering forum, Linaro also works with companies on a one-to-one basis through its Services division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenDaylight Project</span> Software development project

The OpenDaylight Project is a collaborative open-source project hosted by the Linux Foundation. The project serves as a platform for software-defined networking (SDN) for customizing, automating and monitoring computer networks of any size and scale.

Long-term support (LTS) is a product lifecycle management policy in which a stable release of computer software is maintained for a longer period of time than the standard edition. The term is typically reserved for open-source software, where it describes a software edition that is supported for months or years longer than the software's standard edition.

Sage Sharp is an American software engineer who has worked on the Linux kernel, including serving on the Linux Foundation's Technical Advisory Board for two years. Sharp is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

Microsoft, a tech company historically known for its opposition to the open source software paradigm, turned to embrace the approach in the 2010s. From the 1970s through 2000s under CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Microsoft viewed the community creation and sharing of communal code, later to be known as free and open source software, as a threat to its business, and both executives spoke negatively against it. In the 2010s, as the industry turned towards cloud, embedded, and mobile computing—technologies powered by open source advances—CEO Satya Nadella led Microsoft towards open source adoption although Microsoft's traditional Windows business continued to grow throughout this period generating revenues of 26.8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while Microsoft's Azure cloud revenues nearly doubled.

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is a Linux Foundation project that was started in 2015 to help advance container technology and align the tech industry around its evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OpenHarmony</span> Family of open-source operating systems based on OpenHarmony

OpenHarmony is a family of open-source distributed operating systems based on HarmonyOS derived from LiteOS, donated the L0-L2 branch source code by Huawei to the OpenAtom Foundation. Similar to HarmonyOS, the open-source distributed operating system is designed with a layered architecture, consisting of four layers from the bottom to the top: the kernel layer, system service layer, framework layer, and application layer. It is also an extensive collection of free software, which can be used as an operating system or in parts with other operating systems via Kernel Abstraction Layer subsystems.

References

  1. ↑ "Corporate Members – The Linux Foundation". The Linux Foundation. Archived from the original on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  2. ↑ Anderson, Tim. "Linux Foundation spends 20% more in 2021, adds LFX platform". theregister.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ↑ Martens, China (2007-01-22). "OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge". Computerworld. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  4. ↑ "The Linux Foundation: It's not just the Linux operating system – Linux Foundation". linuxfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  5. ↑ "The Linux Foundation became a force in enterprise tech. Is that a problem?". Protocol. 2020-09-03. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  6. ↑ "Linux Goes to Hollywood for Inaugural Open Source Summit". eWEEK. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  7. ↑ "The Linux Foundation Releases First-Ever Value of Collaborative Development Report". Reuters. 2015-09-30. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  8. ↑ "Automotive Grade Linux Releases Unified Code Base 2.0". 2016-06-11. Archived from the original on 2017-07-06. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Counts, Reese (6 January 2017). "Automotive Grade Linux will be the backbone of your connected car". Autoblog. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "About the FinOps Foundation". FinOps Foundation. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  11. ↑ "LFAI & Data – Linux Foundation Project". lfaidata.foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  12. ↑ "Open Source Projects". The Linux Foundation. Archived from the original on 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  13. ↑ GitHub – openbmc/openbmc: OpenBMC Distribution., openbmc, 2019-02-20, archived from the original on 2019-02-13, retrieved 2019-02-21
  14. ↑ "Open Container Initiative". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  15. ↑ "OpenDaylight About". OpenDaylight. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  16. ↑ "About the OpenJS Foundation". OpenJS Foundation. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and Others Join the Open Source Security Foundation". InfoQ. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  18. ↑ "Open vSwitch Moves From VMware to Linux Foundation". SDxCentral. 2016-08-09. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  19. ↑ "What is OPNFV or Open Platform for NFV Project?". SDxCentral. Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  20. ↑ Sawers, Paul (2022-12-15). "Meta, Microsoft, AWS and TomTom launch the Overture Maps Foundation to develop interoperable open map data". MSN. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  21. ↑ Plumb, Taryn (2022-12-15). "Creating the ultimate smart map with new map data initiative launched by Linux Foundation". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  22. ↑ "Linux Foundation Announces Overture Maps Foundation to Build Interoperable Open Map Data". Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  23. ↑ "FAQ – Overture Maps Foundation". Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  24. ↑ "PyTorch Foundation the First Six Months". Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  25. ↑ "RethinkDB: why we failed". defstartup.org. Archived from the original on 2017-05-30. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  26. ↑ Asay, Matt. "RethinkDB finds a new home at the Linux Foundation". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  27. ↑ "Frequently asked questions – RethinkDB". rethinkdb.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  28. ↑ "RISC-V International". Archived from the original on 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  29. ↑ "seL4 Microkernel Optimized for Security Gets Support of Linux Foundation". 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  30. ↑ "Servo's new home". Archived from the original on 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  31. ↑ "SPDX". Archived from the original on 2017-05-17. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  32. ↑ "SPDX License List". Archived from the original on 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
  33. ↑ "Linux Foundation Announces Launch of TLA+ Foundation". April 21, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Yocto project". Archived from the original on 2021-01-06. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  35. ↑ "OpenMobileHub". OHM. Linux Foundation. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  36. ↑ "Linux For Everyone! Goodwill Partnership Yields Exciting Scholarship To Teach You New Skills". Tech Times. 2016-01-16. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  37. ↑ "Linux Foundation launches Community Specification for creating standards and specifications". SD Times. 2020-07-10. Archived from the original on 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  38. ↑ "Linux Foundation Funds Internet Security Advances – InformationWeek". InformationWeek. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  39. ↑ "1,000 Projects Registered for the CII Best Practice Badge, 100 Badges Granted and Prizes!!! | Core Infrastructure Initiative". coreinfrastructure.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  40. ↑ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Open-sourcing data will make big data bigger than ever". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  41. ↑ "FAQ – CDLA". CDLA. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  42. ↑ "Linux Foundation Acquires Linux.com | ConsortiumInfo.org". Consortiuminfo.org Standards Blog. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  43. ↑ Montalbano, Elizabeth (2009-03-03). "Linux.com to get a makeover". Network World. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  44. ↑ "Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH)". Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  45. ↑ Chan, Rosalie. "The Linux Foundation wants to help combat COVID-19 with free, open-source apps to tell people when they've been exposed to the virus". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  46. ↑ "Linux Foundation takes on climate change". LinuxGizmos.com. 2020-09-04. Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  47. ↑ "Sharing data to help launch the Linux Foundation Climate Finance Foundation". Microsoft on the Issues. 2020-09-01. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  48. ↑ Bernard, Allen (September 2, 2020). "Linux Foundation commits to addressing climate change with data and analytics". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  49. ↑ "Harnessing Collective Action to Green the Grid". Time. Archived from the original on 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  50. ↑ Larson, Aaron (June 10, 2021). "Open-Source Technology Benefits Transmission and Distribution Operators". Power Magazine. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  51. ↑ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Best Linux Foundation classes in 2020: Intro to Linux, Cloud Engineer Bootcamp, and more". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  52. ↑ "Linux Foundation to offer introductory Linux MOOC on edX". PCWorld. 2014-03-05. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  53. ↑ "LinuxFoundationX". edX. 2014-03-03. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  54. ↑ "Linux Foundation moves OpenStack training online". RCR Wireless News. 2015-12-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  55. ↑ "Microsoft partners with The Linux Foundation for 'Linux on Azure' certification". BetaNews. 2015-12-09. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  56. ↑ "The Linux Foundation and the National Center for Women & Information Technology Release Inclusive Speaker Orientation Course for Events | The Linux Foundation". linuxfoundation.org. Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  57. ↑ "Learn About Serverless with The Linux Foundation on edX". i-programmer.info. Archived from the original on 2020-09-19. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  58. ↑ Bayern, Macy (March 27, 2020). "Enterprise eLearning: Uptick in education demand during coronavirus outbreak". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on 2020-10-19. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  59. ↑ DeKoenigsberg, Greg (2005). "Building the patent commons". Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  60. ↑ "Patent Commons Project". Linux Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  61. ↑ Merrill, Scott (10 August 2010). "Linux Foundation launches Open Compliance Program". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
  62. ↑ "Schedule A in LF's bylaws". Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  63. ↑ "Members of the Linux Foundation". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  64. ↑ "Forge the future of open source | Benefits of Linux Foundation Membership" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  65. ↑ "Members of the Linux Foundation". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  66. ↑ "Donate to The Linux Foundation". Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  67. ↑ "Linux Foundation Europe Launches to Foster European Open Source Collaboration and Innovation". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  68. ↑ Chauhan, Monika (2022-09-20). "Linux Foundation Europe Launched; Aims To Accelerate Open Collaborative Efforts - TFiR". tfir.io. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  69. ↑ Flaherty, Nick (2022-09-15). "Linux Foundation Europe launches". eeNews Europe. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  70. ↑ "Linux Foundation Europe Announces Formation of OpenWallet Foundation". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  71. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (2023-05-31). "The Linux Foundation Europe launches RISE, the RISC-V Software Ecosystem project". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  72. ↑ Xavier, John (2024-12-11). "Linux Foundation launches LF India to boost open source innovation". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  73. ↑ Sharma, Sagar (2024-12-11). "Linux Foundation Expands Global Footprint with Strategic India Launch". Analytics India Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  74. ↑ Saha, Poulami (2024-12-11). "Linux Foundation unveils LF India: A new hub for Open Source innovation and collaboration". FE Tech Bytes. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  75. 1 2 3 Singh, Jagmeet (2024-12-11). "Linux Foundation sets up India entity to boost open source collaboration". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  76. ↑ Singha, Kshitij (4 September 2024). "Government launches Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack; To offer Blockchain-as-a-Service with a geographically distributed infrastructure". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  77. ↑ "Linux Foundation Announces Launch of LF India to Expand Global Open Source Support and Innovation". www.linuxfoundation.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  78. ↑ Greg Kroah-Hartman. "[PATCH] MAINTAINERS: Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements". LKML (Mailing list). Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  79. ↑ Linus Torvalds (2024-10-23). "Re: [PATCH] Revert "MAINTAINERS: Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements."". LKML (Mailing list). Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  80. ↑ Enrico Weigelt (2024-10-30). "Re: Maintainers now blocked from kernel.org mail access [WAS Re: linux: Goodbye from a Linux community volunteer]" (Mailing list).
  81. ↑ James Bottomley (2024-10-24). "Re: linux: Goodbye from a Linux community volunteer". LKML (Mailing list). Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  82. ↑ Ospan, Ablay. "Ablay Ospan on LinkedIn" . Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  83. ↑ Purdy, Kevin (24 October 2024). "Removal of Russian coders spurs debate about Linux kernel's politics". Ars Technica. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.