Software evolution analysis of ubuntu operating system

SOFTWARE EVOLUTION ANALYSIS
OF UBUNTU OPERATING SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION TO LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM
• Linux is defined as a “Unix-like” operating system assembled
under the model of free and open source software development
and distribution.
• Linux was invented by “Linus Torvalds”.
• Linux is one of the popular version of UNIX operating System.
It is a open source, as its source code is freely available. It is
free to use.
• Linux was designed considering UNIX
compatibility. Its functionality list is quite
similar to that of UNIX.

INTRODUCTION
As the technology is growing, the demand for reliable and
quality software also increasing.
In today’s market developing reliable software is also
important for many other requirements such as future growth,
robustness, and standardization and user adoption. Software
industry has become very competitive due to increasing demand
and adaptation in every field. They really need to be diligent
about software good processes for production, quality control,
future growth and stability of their products.

EVOLUTION OF UBUNTU OS
UBUNTU OPEN SOURCE OPERATING SYSTEM

WHAT IS UBUNTU???
 Ubuntu is a Linux-based Operating System
 It is Most Popular Linux Distribution.
 It is open sourced
 Cost free
 non-proprietary
 Strong focus on
 Usability
 Easy to installation

ORIGIN
• Ubuntu is an African concept meaning “humanity toward
others”
• It is developed under Debian Project.(Largest
Linux software development community)
• Sponsored by Canonical Ltd.
• Owned by South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth
• Ubuntu is published by Canonical Ltd,
who offer commercial support. It is based on
free software

Software evolution analysis of ubuntu operating system

 Kubuntu - Ubuntu with the K Desktop Environment
 Edubuntu - Ubuntu for Education , featuring a large number
of educational applications.
 Ubuntu Server Edition - Ubuntu for Servers
 Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) - Ubuntu for Netbooks
 Xubuntu- Ubuntu for less-powerful computers.
 Lubuntu- Ubuntu with LXDE Environment
 Mythbuntu-Ubuntu with Myth TV software
Variants of U buntu

 Many different distributions.
 Huge group of “free software proponents” (open
source)
 Ubuntu is free and always will be free.
 No key codes, activation, registration.
 Ubuntu is most popular Linux-based OS in the
world (10 million users now and counting…)
FEATURES:

 Ubuntu is the most popular operating system running in
hosted environments, so–called "clouds", as it is the most
popular server Linux distribution.
 A default installation of Ubuntu contains a wide range of
software that includes LibreOffice,
Firefox, Thunderbird, Transmission, and several lightweight
games such as Sudoku and chess.
 Many additional software packages are accessible from the
built in Ubuntu Software Centre as well as any other APT-
based package management tools.

 It take less installation time
 Boot up time
 It containt MultiBoot Loader (GRand Unified BootLoader)
 Dual boot with Windows , MAC.

SECURITY :
 Built by hackers to be inherently more secure than any other operating system.
 Including spyware, adware, trojan horses, worms, and any other malware
protections.
 Ubuntu's goal is to be secure "out-of-the box". By default, the user's programs
run with low privileges and cannot corrupt the operating system or other users'
files.
 For increased security, the sudo tool is used to assign temporary privileges for
performing administrative tasks, which allows the root account to remain locked
and helps prevent inexperienced users from inadvertently making catastrophic
system changes or opening security holes. Most network ports are closed by
default to prevent hacking. A built-in firewall allows end-users who install
network servers to control access.

WHAT IS SOFTWARE EVOLUTION???
In today’s age software evolves rapidly due to high competition in
the industry.
Lehman said that “software evolution is a dynamic behavior of
programming system as they are maintained and enhanced over
their lifetimes, which means evolution related to maintenance
activity that cause changes and focus on outcome rather than the
process”.

• The Ubuntu OS has several versions such as desktop version,
server version and the mobile version.
• The desktop and server versions differ in terms of the graphical
user interface package used. For the desktop version, the UNITY
or GNOME graphical user interface is preinstalled by default
whereas the server version has a command line interface by
default.
• The mobile version of Ubuntu is coupled with a real time kernel
to handle deterministic operations such as mobile calls. The
mobile version of Ubuntu is fairly new, and currently in its early
stages.
SOFTWARE EVOLUTION OF UBUNTU

FEATURE EVOLUTION OF UBUNTU:
Ubuntu 4.0 was the first version of the Ubuntu OS, released on
the 26th October 2004 . Every 6 months, Ubuntu released a new
version except fourth and fifth version. The fourth release was
designated as a Long Term Support (LTS) release with a support
timeframe of five years.
The naming conventions used in each release of the Ubuntu OS
are based on animal names whose appearance or habits reflects
the new features of that particular release. The numeric
assignment of the release versions represents the year and month
of the release date.

Fig: 1 Change Log Audit Results

From the analysis result, we can observe that the majority of
software maintenance undergone by the Ubuntu OS is of
enhancive type, groomatic type and corrective type. Version
9.04, 10.1, 12.04 and 13.1 shows major changes in
correctiveness of OS, while version 11.04 and Version 13.10 of
Ubuntu underwent significant changes as major components of
the operating system were replaced with newer components
such as the replacement of the GNOME user interface with the
Unity user interface and the replacement of the X11 display
with the Mir display server for enhanced mobile device support

GROWTH ANALYSIS
 In order to perform the source code metrics analysis, the open source UCC (Unified Code
Count) application is used to automate this process .
 For a broader understanding of the software growth and evolution of the Ubuntu OS, the
source code metrics analysis is performed on Ubuntu 5.04, Ubuntu 6.06, Ubuntu 8.04,
Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 12.10 and Ubuntu 13.10.
 Three types of metrics are gathered throughout the analysis namely the number of classes
(files in this context), number of functions or methods and the number of lines of codes.
 Empty lines, source code comments and headers will be ignored in the metrics analysis to
ensure only functional codes are considered.
A. Metrics against Age Analysis
 The plot of the source code metrics against the software age depicts the overall growth of
the software through time. Figure shows the interpolated software growth and changes
based on the analysis of five versions of Ubuntu.
Figure 2. Change Log Audit Results

Fig: 3 Plot of software metrics against software age
B. Metrics against Release Revisions
 The plot of the source code metrics against the software age depicts the overall
growth of the software across versions which are Ubuntu 5.04, Ubuntu 6.06,
Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 12.10 and Ubuntu 13.10.

Fig:4 Normalised relative changes against software age
C. Relative Metric against Age Analysis
 The plot of the normalised relative changes against the software age depicts the relative
changes made to the software through time. Figure 4 shows the interpolated relative
software changes based on the analysis of five versions of Ubuntu.

Fig:5 Normalized relative changes against software versions
 The overall growth and evolution of the Ubuntu operating system abides by the
Lehman’s law of software self-regulation. By observing Figure 4, the software relative
growth trend can be statistically represented using geometric curve fitting based
regression analysis.

In addition to that, the development process of the Ubuntu also
abides by the Lehman’s law of continuing growth and changes.
From Figure 2, it can be observed that Ubuntu is continuously
adapting to newer technologies by removing obsolete
components and adding more efficient components to the
system such as the replacement of the GNOME user interface
with the “Touch Friendlier” Unity user interface.
On the other hand, Ubuntu’s software growth loosely abides by
the Lehman’s law of conservation of familiarity and the
conservation of organizational stability. By observing Figure 4
and Figure 5, the incremental change and average activity rate
varies broadly and is highly dependent on the Canonicals’
headings and roadmaps.

LIMITATIONS
• Ubuntu is software that is developed using multiple
programming languages, a more sophisticated software
metrics is required to perform an accurate analysis of the
software growth.
• The logical source line of codes (SLOC) metric used in this
analysis shows only the software growth in size. It is not the
appropriate means of analyzing the software growth in terms
of the functional and non-functional requirements.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the growth analysis and the change
analysis conducted on the Ubuntu operating system shows that
it is undergoing continuous changes to its functional and non-
functional requirements. The software growth cycle of the
Ubuntu operating system is observed to be in accordance to the
Lehman’s law of software evolution. However, the validity of
this software growth and evolution paper is constrained by the
loss of in information due to the poorly maintained
documentation for Ubuntu.

Software evolution analysis of ubuntu operating system

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