Linus Torvalds angrily criticizes Google contributors, file system improvement suggestions spark controversy

Linus Torvalds recently expressed strong dissatisfaction with a Google contributor's file system proposal on the Linux kernel mailing list. His fierce words have attracted widespread attention in the industry.

The focus is on "inode" - a key concept in file systems, defined by Red Hat as "a unique identifier for specific metadata on a file system."

Recently, the discussion about inodes on the Linux kernel mailing list has become more and more intense. Torvalds and Steven Rostedt from Google got into a heated debate on this topic. Some people believe that inode still plays a key role when using the tar command to package files. However, Torvalds insists that the importance of inodes has gradually diminished over time.

The inode number once had special meaning, but no longer provides a unique identifier. Torvalds pointed out that we must break free from historical constraints and adapt to the evolution of file systems.

Despite this, the discussion about inode has not come to an end. Rostedt eventually proposed that each inode should have its own unique number.

To this, Torvalds reacted extremely strongly, using language and tone rarely seen in recent years.

In 2018, Torvalds took a leave of absence after attacking other Linux programmers and project contributors in emails asking for help. He acknowledged that his behavior was "unprofessional and unprovoked," especially when he made the attack personal. "I now understand that this was unacceptable and I deeply apologize for it."

The Linux kernel mailing list is a platform for many contributors to work together. Offensive remarks will destroy the cooperative atmosphere and be detrimental to the development of the Linux project. Therefore, maintaining a friendly, respectful and professional work environment is essential. After all, the success of the Linux project is inseparable from the hard work of volunteers and the efforts of maintainers. Maintaining good communication and collaboration is key to ensuring your project continues to thrive.

In response to Rostedt's suggestion about unique numbering of inodes, Torvalds expressed his position: "Don't make things more complicated than necessary."

His tone gradually became fierce: "Damn it, stop copying the functions of the VFS layer. It was a bad idea last time, and it's even more so this time. I can't accept this unreasonable approach. .”

Torvalds criticized Rostedt for failing to fully understand the nature of the problem, something Rostedt later acknowledged. But by then, Torvalds had already sharply accused him: "You copied that function without understanding its true purpose, and your code was a mess."

While the discussion continued in a more moderate tone, Torvalds proposed what he believed was a more reasonable solution. The "Emperor Penguin" said he did not plan to pursue the matter immediately because "I've wasted so much time on it, I've fallen behind on other responsibilities, and now I can't deal with it."

Rostedt's reply came with a hint of sarcasm: "Ironically, one of the responsibilities I've been putting off is writing documentation for the maintainer burnout support group."

Then Torvalds moved on to something more exciting - the debut of version 6.8-rc2 of the Linux kernel. Torvalds pointed out that the rc1 release contained an amdgpu scheduling bug that could cause the desktop to hang, "This issue seems to affect quite a few people." Fortunately, a possible btrfs bug was discovered and fixed before rc1 was released. .

Torvalds expressed his hopes for the upcoming rc2 version: "Now that we are entering a more stable phase of the release cycle, we have resolved issues that may have affected many testers. So hopefully the fixes will be more subtle and not impact common core set up."

He ended the post on an encouraging note: "So go out and test. It's safe now. You trust me, right?"

Of course - if the question is just about developing a kernel.

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