Protecting the foundations of Linux – an interview with Jim Zemlin

What challenges does Linux still face?
In terms of challenges for Linux, there will first of all always be a challenge to have the best possible kernel you can get. I can tell you, the guy who maintains the Linux kernel is the most competitive guy on that front. We have the good fortune of being able to work with thousands of the brightest people in the IT industry to make that happen. It’s one we’ve met handily.
I think getting the industry to close the gap between the technical adoption of Linux and the business practices they have is probably something that will take time, but I think we’re making progress there. I think that if you look at things like Yocto, which we announced today, you can see businesses collaborating. Anything we can do to simplify the consumption of Linux, whether that’s from a vendor perspective or simplifying Linux in terms of making new things, we want to help.

What is Yocto?
The Git [repository] is at Yoctoproject.org. The way I like to describe this project is to pose a question: What if I could introduce you to the next Steve Jobs? To the next breakthrough device? The next iPhone, iPad or incredible device that will change the way people live every day and move markets? Would you like to see that device? Would you like to meet
that person?

The point is, I don’t know where that person is, or what that device is going to be. What I do know is that the odds are, the person working on that device is probably using Linux and a set of OS components to build it. That’s a safe bet. There are reasons for that. There is no other platform that has the breadth of architectures Linux has. That’s why you see Linux leading in the embedded systems marketplace, despite what some might describe as ‘suckage’. It’s so easy to take the code and integrate it with hardware; to control your own destiny. That’s why I think that next breakthrough device is likely to be
using Linux.

The job of an organisation like the Linux Foundation isn’t to go find that person, or to define what type of device might be. What I think is important is that the Linux community come together collectively to say “how can we provide that person making the next break-though device with the best possible tools we can imagine to make their lives easier?” To allow them to create that product better, faster, cheaper and create this platform on which this type of rich innovation can happen. That’s what’s going on in the Yocto project 1.0 release.

One of this issue’s big features is a collection of the 100 greatest open source projects as voted by writers and readers. What are your favourite Linux projects?
The kernel is my number-one favourite. It’s the one nearest and dearest to my heart. I really am bullish on the Yocto project, and Android is a great project. WebOS is a terrific project. But the reason I like Yocto so much: I think that providing this rich canvas and wonderful vibrant colours and tools that can enable whoever to create that next breakthrough device is important. If we can do that in a way that provides those tools at no cost to as broad an audience as possible, I think we’ve done a service to the industry.

Time for some quick-fire questions… What do you think of Red Hat’s decision to sign its updates?
I think it’s something they felt they had to do. My respect for Red Hat as a company is very high. These guys are true to their values as open source, and they operate like a machine, down to the last person over there. You walk into Red Hat and everybody is busy. Everybody’s working their tail off. I don’t think what Red Hat is doing is breaking any open source promise they may have made to the industry. These guys have earned their stripes. Maybe it creates some extra work for the CentOS guys, but I don’t think that particular thing changes the distribution landscape.

How goes work on supporting Java 7 in Eclipse?
We hope to start soon. Part of the problem we’ve been having in Eclipse is we’re behind in trying to implement some of these Java 7 features. The reason why is there hasn’t been a JSR up to this point; nothing that would allow us to get to the IP. The mailing list is GPL. Project Coin is GPL, which is incompatible with the EPL, so we’ve been waiting. We tried for over a year to get an agreement in place around getting a licence to those conversations to do EPL implementations. Now the JSR is proposed, if the JSR gets created we can get to work.

Should more Linux projects co-ordinate release dates for release trains?
One of the things about open source is you don’t have a product manager breathing over shoulder. For me, in my role, and my personal perspective, I think its up to developers. I can argue both sides.  A regular release schedule produces a kind of discipline that compels a project to go forward. Every six months, you’re rushing to get the final bugs squashed. But then I can argue the counterpoint, saying you should do it when it’s ready and not due to some artificial deadline. My personal opinion is that it’s up to the developer. It’s up to the project.

What has been your greatest success as director of the Linux Foundation?
Not pissing off Linus! Seriously, though, I don’t think I have succeeded completely yet, because my personal measure of success of the Linux Foundation is to provide a stable home for Linux, to protect and advance Linux not for one year, not for two years, not for five or ten, but for decades to come. I’m not going to declare success.

I know two things: that Linux is going to be around for another 20 years, for sure, and I know that the Linux Foundation is a critical part of how Linux is developed, and for me to measure success on those two things means making sure the Linux Foundation endures for that long period of time. I don’t think we need to be bigger, or the greatest, but we need to be extremely good at what we do in advancing and promoting and protecting Linux for a long time. That’s how I measure success.

And finally the biggest question of all – what’s next for Linux?
The printing work still goes on. Epson and other vendors announced automated downloads for their printer drivers on Linux. That means you can plug a printer in and the driver will be auto-detected and installed automatically. It’ll be a similar experience to Apple. Our technical advisory board, which is made up of kernel developers, has been a huge attribute to this organisation. They help mentor companies in terms of how to participate in the kernel community process. They consistently participate in events to get new people involved in the process. It’s one of the best things this organisation is known for. The technical guys are a wonderful group of guys, and they’re all geniuses. If you look at any of our work groups, the open components project, or any of these, they all have lives of their own.

In cases where a particular effort has been completed, or there’s no more work to be done, it’s not the end of the world that some of these projects fade away. Sometimes, you’re done.

We’ll continue to expand in embedded, continue to promote Linux mobile, and continue to work with member companies on high-availability and high-performance computing. The fundamental way we focus at the Linux Foundation is by asking three questions: Are we moving the needle on Linux adoption? Is nobody else doing this? Is there a reason to collaborate?

We got a mandate there in terms of helping and enabling the mobile device market and moving it forward, making sure the kernel development process moves in an unfettered way not only for the lead maintainer of the project, but for everyone. I think our compliance programme will continue to expand, too.