this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Where can I find the story behind it? This is the first I've heard of it
I don't know of anything that documents it as well as reading the literal mailing list responses at each time it became relevant.
But the actual development story isn't that interesting other than when some extremely unprofessional behavior from a lot of parties occurred.
Like actual piss baby anti social nerd shit.
Sorry, I don't know if it is documented anywhere, but in summary the project started with bcache (block cache) from a single developer (Kent Overstreet A.K.A Evil Pie Pirate) in 2010 that explained he was building a module for the Linux Kernel.
Bcache is a method of using a fast ssd drive as a caching mechanism for slow but large hdds. As is, the project was quite ambitious but then, when the developer was working in an evolution of bcache (kind-of lessons learned re-implementation), the project grew into a general-purpose POSIX filesystem.
Considering the origins of the most popular file system implementations, expecting a single individual being successful creating a general-purpose one sounded over ambitious.
Then in 2013, out of the blue, Kent left Google to solely work in this project. (In reality though, he spent two years later in Datera as well.)
Then, how do you finance a single developer for a file system from 2013 onwards up to today, when it finally merged into the kernel?
Patreon. The whole thing was financed through it.
That said, there are other collaborators like Daniel Hill, Dave Chinner or Brian Foster, yet what's surprising is how this started as a side project and eventually became the main competitor of corporate-developed file systems by Patreon funding.
Note: A bit of hype-control here, btrfs which would be the main "competitor" was merged into kernel 14 years ago, so bcachefs still has a long way to go before we can trust it with our data.