[inapis]

I am not a system programmer but, from my understanding, Torvalds has expressed strong opinions about microkernels over a long period of time. The concept looks cleaner on paper but the complexity simply outweighs all the potential benefits. The debate, from what I have followed, expressed similar themes as monolithic vs microservices in the wider software development arena.

[hgs3]

I'm not a kernel developer myself, but I’m aware of the Tanenbaum/Torvalds debates in the early 90’s. My understanding is the primary reason Linus gave Tanenbaum for the monolithic design was performance, but I would think in 2025 this isn’t so relevant anymore.

And thanks for attempting to answer my question without snark or down voting. Usually HN is much better for discussion than this.

[SSLy]

Linus holds many opinions chiefly based on 90's experience, many not relevant any more. So it goes.

[FpUser]

>"My understanding is the primary reason Linus gave Tanenbaum for the monolithic design was performance, but I would think in 2025 this isn’t so relevant anymore."

I think that unlike user level software performance of a kernel is of utmost importance.

[tgma]

Why do you think performance isn't relevant in 2025?