Archive:42.1/Features
openSUSE Leap 42.1 is...
openSUSE Leap 42.1 deserved a name that matches its importance. By basing openSUSE on SLE (SUSE Linux Enterprise), the core of openSUSE is maintained by SUSE engineers. That means it will get fixes and security updates from SLE. Packages, maintenance and bug fixes also come from the openSUSE community. 42.1 aligns with SLE 12 Service Pack (SP) 1, and Leap 42.2 will align with SP2 and 42.3 will align with SP3. Users are expected to upgrade to the latest minor release within 6 months of its availability, leading to a life cycle of 18 months of maintenance and security updates per minor release. The minor version upgrades in Leap 42 are similar to a service pack, so users of the 42 series achieve an estimated 36 months of maintenance and security updates if they start with 42.1.
Leap adds the bits and pieces of software that contributors want and are willing to maintain. Community contributions in openSUSE Factory were are submitted to Leap 42.1 and will give open-source users and Linux professionals a long-term, stable Linux system.
openSUSE Leap 42.1 comes with GCC 4.8.5 and the option to install the newer GCC 5. Leap uses the 4.1 LTS series Linux Kernel.