Linux Kernel 7.3 Is Here: Fixes Spread Across the Board

What happened

Linux 7.3 came out on Sunday, after the seventh release candidate (rc7) with no extra test round. Linus Torvalds, who leads Linux development, says the last week had no special problems, so he released it. The merge window for Linux 7.4 opened on Monday. During this two-week window, bigger changes are collected for the next version.

Key facts

• Linux 7.3 was released on schedule, after rc7.
• The merge window for Linux 7.4 lasts about two weeks.
• About one third of the first release candidate patch was AMD graphics code, mostly register header files for AMD DCN6 chips.
• Linux 7.2 came out in mid-August.

Some background

The Linux kernel is the core part of the operating system. It controls the hardware, such as the processor, memory and graphics chips. Each new version goes through release candidates, which are test versions. Fixes often make up most of a release that has no big new features. Torvalds also said he will take a holiday and may add an extra week to the merge window, but he will not accept late requests.

Why it matters

A calm release with many small fixes means the system is stable. Users and companies that run Linux on servers, phones and computers benefit from fewer bugs. The AMD code shows that new graphics chips are being supported. A fair GPU scheduler, which was announced for 7.2, is still not the default in 7.3. Developers took it back because of reported problems and marked it as experimental.

What to watch

• Which bigger changes are added during the 7.4 merge window.
• Whether the merge window is extended by one more week.
• Whether the fair GPU scheduler becomes the default in a future version.
• A deep dive by the source site on the most interesting changes, due in the coming days.