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Linux takes backward compatibility very seriously. The FOSS ecosystem as a whole has the whole spectrum, so the bad apples break it for everyone. The result is

• lmm 4y ago
  > Linux takes backward compatibility very seriously. The FOSS ecosystem as a whole has the whole spectrum, so the bad apples break it for everyone. > The result isn't even "fuck you, recompile." The result is, "fuck you, you better be constantly fixing the shit that we broke with our breaking changes." Linux's approach to drivers is the most "fuck you, you better be constantly fixing the shit that we broke with our breaking changes" of any OS. It does take userland compatibility seriously though.
  • marcodiego 4y ago
    What you say is not true. Once a driver is in the kernel, there's usually nothing a user must do to get the device working. It works so well that devices works on architectures manufacturers haven't even thought about. The policy in the kernel when any internal interface changes is: you change it, you have to modify all the driver to keep them working. It works splendidly well.
    • lmm 4y ago
      > What you say is not true. It's true, and I have 3 devices that stopped working under Linux to prove it. > Once a driver is in the kernel, there's usually nothing a user must do to get the device working. If the driver is accepted into the kernel tree in the first place, and until it gets removed, yes. The fact remains that that's a much narrower window than for most OSes.