Kernel (operating system) obsolete by virtually all operating system researchers. As a result, the design of Linux as a monolithic kernel rather than a microkernel was the topic of a famous debate between Linus Torvalds and Andrew Tanenbaum. There is merit on both sides of the argument presented in the Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate. Monolithic kernels are designed to have all of their code in the same address space (kernel space), which some developers argue is necessary to increase the performance of the system. Some developers also maintain that monolithic systems are extremely efficient if well written. The monolithic model tends to be more efficient
Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate titled "Can We Make Operating Systems Reliable and Secure?". While Tanenbaum himself has mentioned that he did not write the article to renew the debate on kernel design, the juxtaposition of the article and an archived copy of the 1992 debate on the technology site Slashdot caused the subject to be rekindled. Torvalds posted a rebuttal of Tanenbaum's arguments via an online discussion forum, and several technology news sites began reporting the issue. This prompted Jonathan Shapiro to respond that most of the field-proven reliable and secure computer systems use a more microkernel-like approach. Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate The Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate was