The author is mistaken in adding Linux to this list. There was no "big, disruptive change" in the Linux userspace-facing API (stable syscalls, basically). The L

The author is mistaken in adding Linux to this list. There was no "big, disruptive change" in the Linux userspace-facing API (stable syscalls, basically). The Linux developers are quite serious about not breaking that and what Linus said back in 2005 still stands - http://yarchive.net/comp/linux/gcc_vs_kernel_stability.html http://yarchive.net/comp/linux/gcc_vs_kernel_stability.html : > We care about user-space interfaces to an insane degree. We go to extreme lengths to maintain even badly designed or unintentional interfaces. Breaking user programs simply isn't acceptable. We're _not_ like the gcc developers. We know that people use old binaries for years and years, and that making a new release doesn't mean that you can just throw that out. You can trust us.