Linus Torvalds, the creator and lead developer of Linux, has publicly dismissed a RISC-V code contribution from a Google engineer as “garbage.” The code was sent as a pull request for inclusion in the Linux 6.17 kernel on Friday, but has been roundly rejected by Torvalds for both its poor quality and for being late. Those are two cardinal sins in pull requests, and misdemeanors that have clearly ignited the Linux creator’s infamously short fuse.
In response to the RISC-V Patches for the 6.17 Merge Window, Part 1, from Google’s Android team member Palmer Dabbelt, Torvalds didn’t pull any punches. “No. This is garbage and it came in too late. I asked for early pull requests because I'm traveling, and if you can't follow that rule, at least make the pull requests *good*,” insisted Torvalds. “This adds various garbage that isn't RISC-V specific to generic header files. And by "garbage" I really mean it. This is stuff that nobody should ever send me, never mind late in a merge window,” he brusquely elaborated.
The comment from Torvalds wasn't just bile. He went on to give some examples of where the RISC-V pull request went astray. But even in this mostly reasoned response, Torvalds couldn’t resist adding a few more barbs.
'You're on notice'
When highlighting the undesirable additions in the newly submitted RISC-V feature code, the Linux firebrand said the code “makes the world actively a worse place to live.” He added that “Things like this need to get bent,” and put the developer on a warning for both code quality and being late. “You're on notice: no more late pull requests, and no more garbage outside the RISC-V tree.”
Rounding off his unvarnished public broadcast to the Google engineer, Torvalds strongly recommended that they try and get in early for Linux kernel 6.18. Moreover, code “without the garbage” would be preferred, in case that wasn't quite clear.
Social media responses to the latest Torvalds tantrum have been mixed. It can be true that being unfiltered and direct is an efficient way to communicate. Especially when backed up with reasoning and constructive comments. Also, you could say that Torvalds didn’t attack anyone involved, personally.
On the other hand, charm can also be a winning strategy. As per the well-known Italian proverb — Il mele catta più mosche, che non fà l’aceto — “Honey catches more flies than vinegar.” But that might be somewhat less fun in terms of tech headlines, and we would probably never again get the chance to put ‘random turd files’ in a headline if Mr Torvalds decided to turn a new leaf.
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