Linus Torvalds Explains How Linux Surprised and Motivated Him
For the first time Linus Torvalds was on stage in China at the LinuxCon + ContainerCon + CloudOpen China event in Beijing. In front of more than 2,000 people, Linus Torvalds spoke with VMware’s Head of Open Source, Dirk Hohndel.
One of their interesting chats was about how Linux surprised and motivated Linus Torvalds, and how the developer can start working project open source they. Here are some excerpts from their chat.
What a surprise from Linux development.
“What I find interesting is code what I wrote will remain stable and continue to improve. There are things we haven’t touched in years, then someone comes along and fixes them or reports the cracks they find in a code which I don’t think anyone will ever use.”
“We continue to have hardware-hardware new, new features created. But after 25 years, we’re going to be old, that’s the basis of what people should care about and keep improving.”
What motivated Linus Torvalds
“I really like what I do. I like to wake up early and have a job that is interesting and challenging but doesn’t have to be so stressful that I can work on it for long periods of time; something where I feel like I’m making a real difference and doing something that doesn’t just work for me.”
“I sometimes take a break from my work. 2-3 weeks I worked on Git to begin with, for example. But every time I take a long break, I get bored. When I went for a week of diving I felt I had to come back. I don’t think I can rest for much longer.”
The future of Linux leadership
“Our process is not only done for 25 years, we still have the teams maintainer great one. We complain that we don’t have enough maintainer – in fact, we have 10 great managers who do day to day work on things and put them together. It’s a great team for a open source projects.”
“And these managers are getting older and fatter, we have new people joining us. Maybe it will take years from a developer beginner to become a great developer, so I don’t think I need to worry about Linux for the next 20 years.”
Will Linux be replaced
“There might be some project The new aggressive is coming and will show they can do what we do better, but I’m not worried about that. There has been a lot of success from Linux derivatives. What keeps people from thinking of them as derivatives of Linux is that they are customizable.”
“If someone said they would do something and change everything, and then make kernel which is much better, I think just do it, prove yourself. I might have thought it was a bad idea, but you can prove me wrong.”
About Git
“I am very surprised by how much Git is being used today. I’m really excited, and this validates my idea of doing distributed development. At the same time, we see source control version mostly in general, it tends to be a big company and difficult to introduce software source control the new one. I expect most of that to be limited to the kernel – because it’s adapted to what we build.”
“In the first 3-4 years of Git, people complained that Git was very different and difficult to use. Then after about 5 years passed, everything changed. There are many project and developer who start using Git , Git is no longer different or difficult to use ; Git is the stuff that people are used to. They started to take advantage of development model and feel safe using Git, nothing will be broken or lost.”
“In certain circles, Git is better known than Linux. Because linux is often hidden – on WL The Android you’re using actually uses Linux, but you don’t think about it. But unlike Git, you’ll know you’re using Git”
How to start being a open source developer
“For me, I’m always self-motivated and I know what I want to do. I was never told by anyone what to do. I’m not sure my example is the right thing for others to follow. There are so many open source projectand if you are a developer beginners, find something you like that you can stick with for more than a few weeks.”
“Know the code so well that you get to the point where you are good at bits and pieces code. You don’t have to be a part of the whole projects. No one can be an expert at all kernels, but you know enough in a specific area well.
“If you can be a part of the community and prepare fixes, it’s not just about coding, but also the social aspects of open source. You can make connections with people and improve your abilities as a programmer. You’re a show-off by nature — I’m making these improvements, I’m able to go a long way in my community or work.”
“You have to spend a lot of time studying a projects, but there’s a huge advantage you can get — not just from a career perspective, but you also have a project the extraordinary in your life”
*(Translated into Indonesian by Yaumil Ikhsan. Source: Linux.com)
