The Linux kernel is the lowest level of software running on a Linux system. It is charged with

　　managing the hardware， running user programs， and maintaining the overall security and integrity

　　of the whole system. It is this kernel which， after its initial release by Linus Torvalds in 1991， jump》

　　started the development of Linux as a whole. The kernel is a relatively small part of the software

　　on a full Linux system （many other large components come from the GNU project， the GNOME

　　and KDE desktop projects， the X.org project， and many other sources）， but it is the core which

　　determines how well the system will work and is the piece which is truly unique to Linux.

　　The Linux kernel is an interesting project to study for a number of reasons. It is one of the largest

　　individual components on almost any Linux system. It also features one of the fastest》moving

　　development processes and involves more developers than any other open source project. Since

　　2005， kernel development history is also quite well documented， thanks to the use of the Git source code management system.

　　This paper takes advantage of that development history to look at how the process works，

　　focusing on over five years of kernel history as represented by the 2.6.11 through 2.6.35

　　releases.