The Linux Kernel Build Is Nearing Ten Seconds

For many years, compiling the Linux kernel was a well-known invitation to step away: while the build ran, there was time enough for a cup of coffee, or even a full meal. The process dragged on even back when the kernel itself was far smaller than it is today — the hardware of the era simply couldn't do better.

That makes the current outlook all the more striking. According to Phoronix, a clean build of the Linux kernel with its default configuration on the x86_64 platform is now approaching the ten-second mark.

Where waiting on a finished binary once bought you a leisurely pause, that window is rapidly closing. A ten-second build means the classic ritual — start the compile, wander off for coffee — may finally be a thing of the past: you'd never make it back in time.

Source: Phoronix