Is The Linux Kernel a Software Product Line

The software product line (SPL) community defines SPLs not only by technical aspects like configurability and code reuse among product line variants, but also by the engineering process that accompanies the development. This paper discusses the question whether this engineering process is a mandatory property of SPLs; it concretely examines the Linux Kernel, which is not being developed according to the SPL engineering guidelines, but nevertheless shares significant commonalities with SPLs that are developed conforming to the definition.