Change propagations in the maintenance of kernel-based software with a study on Linux

As a software system evolves to accommodate new features and repair bugs, changes are needed. Software components are interdependent, changes made to one component can require changes to be propagated to other components. Change propagation brings potential challenges for software maintenance. In this paper, we divide change propagations into four categories in kernel-based software. Different categories of change propagation have different effects on kernel maintenance. We use product version history to mine change propagations rules and apply the categorization to Linux operating system. Our study provides a framework for measuring, evaluating, and predicting change propagations in kernel-based software, which includes most operating systems, database management systems, game systems, and software product lines.