How Configurable is the Linux Kernel? Analyzing Two Decades of Feature-Model History
This work was accepted for publication in the ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM) in April 2025. We report completely new research results.
The Linux kernel is a well-known configurable software system, which can be adapted to a wide range of hardware platforms and use cases. Despite its importance, fundamental aspects of the kernel’s configurability (such as its number and evolution of features and configurations) remain poorly understood, largely due to the kernel’s size and the limited scalability of existing analysis techniques. This work provides the first comprehensive, longitudinal study of the Linux kernel’s configurability, covering more than two decades of feature-model history. Using our analysis tool torte, we extract, transform, and analyze over 3,000 feature-model versions to quantify and characterize the kernel’s variability over time. Our study establishes a foundation for reproducible configurability analyses and contributes data, insights, and recommendations that support both researchers and practitioners working on Linux.
Fri 17 AprDisplayed time zone: Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil change
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