Literally billions of peripherals will benefit! 🥹
❓What is the kernel?
This is the most primordial code: in short, it enables the operating system to talk to the components of a device, and handles the most basic functions such as reading/writing data to disk, executing programs, etc.
ℹ️ Which devices are affected?
When we talk about "peripherals", we mean very broadly.
The Linux kernel is present on web servers (90 to 99% of the market), Android smartphones (85% of the market), and the few million computers that have installed a GNU/Linux OS (2 to 4%)!
Not to mention the boxes and other connected objects running Linux.
Mac OS and iOS also use part of Linux. Basically, only Windows desktops are not affected at all.
The whole thing really does make billions of devices involved, without exaggerating. 🤪
Thanks to its creator Linus Torvalds which always maintains the code.
❓ What is the specific problem corrected here?
👉 I've noticed an anomaly on LG Gram series laptops running Linux, raising a potential kernel issue.
The problem: A system process that uses more resources than expected (and causes unnecessary heating and power consumption) when the device is charging and connected to a dock.
1) Discovering the bug
At the end of 2022, I discovered the problem and the fact that I wasn't alone: the Ubuntu community was starting to talk about it. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1987829
I reproduced the problem under Ubuntu and Fedora, which are quite different distributions, indicating that the problem was not with the OS but rather with Linux.
2) Initial understanding of the bug
In February 2023, the problem began to become clearer, and there was enough evidence to suggest that it was a kernel issue that had not yet been corrected, even on the latest versions.
I then created an account on kernel.org and opened this issue to try to warn the right people: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=217076
I wasn't sure of myself at the time, as it was my first time, but I guess I did it right.
3) Thorough understanding and resolution of the bug
What happens next is totally beyond me, it's all about advanced Linux Dev Kernel... Some people make hypotheses, test them, understand exactly what the problem is, suggest a hotfix to test. And some of them confirm that the bug has been solved. All this takes almost a year and a half.
4) Publication of the patch
The corrective code is then proposed and accepted into the kernel for everyone to benefit from. This is precisely what is now underway: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=9e3caa9dd51b23e232f095a98336a84f42e4a7f2
What's next?
In the next two weeks, the whole world will benefit from the patch.
The idea of having impacted billions of peripherals makes you dizzy! 🥵
It took time, and required extremely specific skills, but the result is there. 🍾
Open-source is beautiful! 😍
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