Inclusivity and political correctness prompted the company to rewrite 400 lines of code.
Recently, Microsoft has been actively involved in the development of the Linux kernel, contributing not only to areas directly related to their business interests, such as Hyper-V or Azure support, but also contributing to broader projects. The company invests in projects such as systemd, and also works on improvements for the Rust programming language in the context of the Linux kernel.
This week, Microsoft's Linux engineer, Eswar Hariharan, presented a series of fourteen patches aimed at improving the inclusiveness of the programming language in the Linux kernel. Eswar engages in the integration of Azure cloud technologies, including cloud chips such as Azure Cobalt, and virtualization. The proposed changes are not directly related to the main commercial interests of Microsoft and are aimed at improving the language culture in the code.
The main purpose of these changes is to replace the "offensive" terminology "master" (literally translated as "master") and "slave" (literally translated as "slave") with the more neutral "controller" and "target" (or "client") in accordance with the latest I2C, SMBus and I3C specifications. This applies to both code and code comments, and affects various parts of the system, including AMD and Intel graphics drivers, drivers for various media and FBDEV devices, and other I2C/I3C/SMBus-related code.
Discussions quickly emerged around these changes, as industry specifications use the new terminology "controller / target", while most new Linux kernel patches prefer the term"client". There is still no consensus among kernel developers regarding the choice between "client" and "target", which can potentially lead to confusion.
Patches from Microsoft affected almost four hundred lines of code, which indicates a significant scale of changes made. These actions by Microsoft underscore their commitment not only to their own development, but also to supporting and improving common technology standards and practices, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and openness in the technology community.
While there is some debate over the specific terminology, the fact that a company is willing to make changes that go beyond its commercial interests demonstrates a commitment to openness, respect, and diversity in the technology community.
All this shows that major industry players are aware of the need to promote positive changes in order to make the development field more friendly and accessible to all.
Recently, Microsoft has been actively involved in the development of the Linux kernel, contributing not only to areas directly related to their business interests, such as Hyper-V or Azure support, but also contributing to broader projects. The company invests in projects such as systemd, and also works on improvements for the Rust programming language in the context of the Linux kernel.
This week, Microsoft's Linux engineer, Eswar Hariharan, presented a series of fourteen patches aimed at improving the inclusiveness of the programming language in the Linux kernel. Eswar engages in the integration of Azure cloud technologies, including cloud chips such as Azure Cobalt, and virtualization. The proposed changes are not directly related to the main commercial interests of Microsoft and are aimed at improving the language culture in the code.
The main purpose of these changes is to replace the "offensive" terminology "master" (literally translated as "master") and "slave" (literally translated as "slave") with the more neutral "controller" and "target" (or "client") in accordance with the latest I2C, SMBus and I3C specifications. This applies to both code and code comments, and affects various parts of the system, including AMD and Intel graphics drivers, drivers for various media and FBDEV devices, and other I2C/I3C/SMBus-related code.
Discussions quickly emerged around these changes, as industry specifications use the new terminology "controller / target", while most new Linux kernel patches prefer the term"client". There is still no consensus among kernel developers regarding the choice between "client" and "target", which can potentially lead to confusion.
Patches from Microsoft affected almost four hundred lines of code, which indicates a significant scale of changes made. These actions by Microsoft underscore their commitment not only to their own development, but also to supporting and improving common technology standards and practices, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and openness in the technology community.
While there is some debate over the specific terminology, the fact that a company is willing to make changes that go beyond its commercial interests demonstrates a commitment to openness, respect, and diversity in the technology community.
All this shows that major industry players are aware of the need to promote positive changes in order to make the development field more friendly and accessible to all.
