This article from eWeek, from Friday, has a preview of what's in the 2.6.13 kernel, released today.
The next stable update of the Linux kernel will bring advances in file system event monitoring, the Xtensa architecture, and a set of system calls that allows users to load another kernel from the currently executing Linux kernel.
While the 2.6.13 –rc (release candidates) are currently being tested, the stable version is expected to be released in the next few weeks, kernel developers told eWEEK.
In fact, Linus Torvalds, the "father" of Linux, this week told kernel developers on the Linux Kernel Mailing List that he "really wanted to release a 2.6.13, but there's been enough changes while we've been waiting for other issues to resolve that I think it's best to do a -rc7 first," he said.
Most of the -rc7 changes were "pretty trivial, either one-liners or affecting some particular specific driver or unusual configuration," he said.
The 2.6.13 kernel will bring some significant changes, including the addition of Inotify, a file system event-monitoring mechanism designed to serve as an effective replacement for Dnotify, which was the de facto file-monitoring mechanism supported in older Linux kernels.
