Tracking upstream and why does it matter?

Yesterday, we discussed three Yocto BSP layers that are exceptional:

• meta-tegra (69 contributors)
• meta-freescale (174 contributors)
• meta-raspberrypi (157 contributors)

The above three layers make an effort to keep up with upstream developments. This may mean regularly merging upstream, doing a build, fixing issues -- keeping up.

As a result, they are always ready for the next release of the Linux kernel, Yocto, whatever.

A little bit of continuous effort is much easier than a monumental effort every four years.

Why does this matter for small teams/companies?

There are many reasons, but when working with complex open-source software, we'll eventually need support/help.

And this help typically comes from the community around open-source projects.

And the community is focused on the current development, not a 4-year LTS release.

Additionally, the latest releases are where security problems get fixed, features implemented, and value added.

YOUR Platform benefits most from being where the value is being created.