It's Official - Linux has fewer bugs

Well, it's official - according to the latest research Linux has fewer bugs than proprietry offerings.

Linux, it is claimed, has about 0.17 bugs per 1,000 LOC (Lines of code).

Most proprietry software has about 20 to 30 bugs per 1,000 LOC.

Intuitively, this makes sense: 1) "Many eyeballs make most bugs shallow" - the open-source process encourages bugs to be found and fixed. 2) Most of the developers writing the Linux kernel are doing it for fun, not to pay the mortgage. As Brian Kernighan says, "Do what you think is interesting, do something that you think is fun and worthwhile, because otherwise you won't do it well anyway." Without the pressures of deadlines and bad managers, developers write better code. 3) Simply put, the kernel hackers are smart people. Hang out on lkml for a while to see the intense thinking that goes on in finding solutions to hard problems - I'm often in awe.

Linux now wins in bug count, internationalisation support, security and TCO. The only 2 remaining obstacles are shrink-wrap applications availability and ease-of-use. Ease of use is being addressed by projects such as GNOME. It's only shrink-wrap applications being available down at the mall that's a hindrance. That's a business model thing - a challenge, but also an opportunity. If someone can crack that there's big profits to be made, and the chance to grab a large chunk of the market at the start.

/tech/linux | 15 Dec 2004 | #