Linus Trovalds didn't just create a kernel but also a version control system and even a scuba diving planning tool (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsurface_(software)).
In the latter, he also touched some GTK code: https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface-for-dirk/commit/c0adf...
Trovalds has much more breadth than you give him credit for.
In Developer Roadmapstorvalds
subsurface-for-dirk
C++2011–2019
torvalds / subsurface-for-dirk
subsurface-for-dirk
Do not use - the real upstream is Subsurface-divelog/subsurface
22Distinct people
25Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
481GitHub stars
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What it is
Do not use - the real upstream is Subsurface-divelog/subsurface
GitHub
Where it is used
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What people are saying
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 3:56:07 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year25 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2011-09-22 05:40:24 UTC to 2019-11-24 17:35:29 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2011-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2012-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2012 | 2012-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2013 | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015 | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
From the project README
An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
Subsurface
Subsurface can be found at http://subsurface-divelog.org/
Our user forum is at http://subsurface-divelog.org/user-forum/
Report bugs and issues at https://github.com/Subsurface/subsurface/issues
License: GPLv2
We are releasing 'nightly' builds of Subsurface that are built from the latest version of the code. Versions of this build for Windows, macOS, Android (requiring sideloading), and a Linux AppImage can be downloaded from the Latest Dev Release page on our website. Alternatively, they can be downloaded directly from GitHub. Additionally, those same versions are
posted to the Subsurface-daily repos on Ubuntu Launchpad, Fedora COPR, and
OpenSUSE OBS, and released to Snapcraft into the 'edge' channel of subsurface.
You can get the sources to the latest development version from the git
repository:
git clone https://github.com/Subsurface/subsurface.git
You can also fork the repository and browse the sources at the same site,
simply using https://github.com/Subsurface/subsurface
Additionally, artifacts for Windows, macOS, Android, Linux AppImage, and iOS (simulator build) are generated for all open pull requests and linked in pull request comments. Use these if you want to test the changes in a specific pull request and provide feedback before it has been merged.
If you want a more stable version that is a little bit more tested you can get this from the Curent Release page on our website.
Detailed build instructions can be found in the INSTALL.md file.
System Requirements
On desktop, the integrated Googlemaps feature of Subsurface requires a GPU
driver that has support for at least OpenGL 2.1. If your driver does not
support that, you may have to run Subsurface in software renderer mode.
Subsurface will automatically attempt to detect this scenario, but in case
it doesn't you may have to enable the software renderer manually with
the following:
Learn how to set persistent environment variables on your OS
Set the environment variable 'QT_QUICK_BACKEND' with the value of 'software'
Basic Usage
Install and start from the desktop, or you can run it locally from the
build directory:
On Linux:
$ ./subsurface
On Mac:
$ open Subsurface.app
Native builds on Windows are not really supported (the official Windows
installers are cross-built on Linux).
You can give a data file as command line argument, or (once you have
set this up in the Preferences) Subsurface picks a default file for
you when started from the desktop or without an argument.
If you have a dive computer supported by libdivecomputer, you can just
select "Import from Divecomputer" from the "Import" menu, select which
dive computer you have (and where it is connected if you need to - note
that there's a special selection for Bluetooth dive computers), and click
on "Download".
The latest list of supported dive computers can be found in the file
SupportedDivecomputers.txt.
Much more detailed end user instructions can be found from inside
Subsurface by selecting Help (typically F1). When building from source
this is also available as Documentation/user-manual.txt. The
documentation for the latest release is also available on-line
http://subsurface-divelog.org/documentation/
Contributing
Subsurface welcomes contributions through code, testing, documentation,
translations, design, and user support. See our
contribution guide to find the correct workflow.
Translations are managed through Transifex. Please do not submit pull
requests that directly edit translation files; the contribution guide links
to the application and website translation projects.
A bit of Subsurface history
In fall of 2011, when a forced lull in kernel development gave him an
opportunity to start on a new endeavor, Linus Torvalds decided to tackle
his frustration with the lack of decent divelog software on Linux.
Subsurface is the result of the work of him and a team of developers since
then. It now supports Linux, Windows and macOS and allows data import from
a large number of dive computers and several existing divelog programs. It
provides advanced visualization of the key information provided by a
modern dive computer and allows the user to track a wide variety of data
about their diving.
In fall of 2012 Dirk Hohndel took over as maintainer of Subsurface.
Read the full README on GitHubWhat Hacker News says
25 sourcesThe repository does not follow its own guidelines.
Also, there's a lot of unnecessary stuff in there. Capitalization and imperative? Not at the top of my list.
The relevant points are nicely summarized by Linus Torvalds: https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface-for-dirk/blob/a48494d...
In Commit messages guideHere is how Linus Torvalds describes a good commit message.
https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface-for-dirk/blob/a48494d...
In How to write a good Git commit messagesLinus on what makes a good commit message
1 points · Open discussionHow to write good git commit messages literally from the person who wrote git (Linus Torvalds):
https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface-for-dirk/blob/0f58510...
I always send this to people as I teach them git.
In How to Write a Git Commit Message (2014)What a good commit message looks like (2011)
96 points · Open discussionYet even Linus does use C++ nowadays:
https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface
In Rust is more than safetyThis is 9 years old. Linus has been happily writing C++ for some time now. For example: https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface/commit/56ed3f1c6119b9...
In Linus Torvalds on C++Yet given the actual state of Gtk development, even Linus is using C++ nowadays via Qt.
https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface
In Remote code execution, git, and OS XBut other than Linux and git (and a diving app [0]), what has Linus ever done for us? [1]
[0] https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso
In Linux at 25: Q&A with Linus Torvalds>The Scalable C book is in many ways a guide to using that library in real projects.
I'm not criticizing the book or czmq. I'm sure it's a fine library. I just found your characterizations of C++ to be strange.
For example: ">, any well-written C code is mutually intelligible to other C programmers."
If you're going to qualify C code with "well-written" to help make your point then can't the same qualification be applied to C++? If so, it means you believe that there is "well-written C++ code" that is simultaneously unintelligible to other programmers. In your opinion, what would be an example of that? (E.g. If you can point to github of unintelligible but well-written C++ source code.)
And your other statement: >, because your particular dialects of C++ tend to isolate you.
I don't know if CryEngine and Unreal game engines are wel
Read the rest
l-written C++ but they seem attract developers. There's also the scuba diving app[1] written in C++ that also has Linus (who you already know hates C++) modifying the source code. I contend there are bigger factors than C++ dialects causing isolation.
The C++ ABI may be more isolating than the C ABI because of C++ name mangling incompatibilities. But I don't see how the C++ dialects (of well-written code) are isolating.
[1]https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface
https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface
pretty interesting! the .c's heavily outnumber the .cpp's.
there's nothing like having your prejudices confirmed to harden them, so I question whether he is more welcoming.
In Popular Myths about C++, Part 1> Clearly the missing data in the github workflow is so detrimental that it's not worth the extra developers it might attract.
There is historical path dependence. Linux has changed workflows before, but each time it was controversial. I can see where it wouldn't be worth igniting a holy war.
The more interesting question is what new projects should do. Even Linus puts new things (https://github.com/torvalds/subsurface) on Github.
In Area programmer laments designers don’t use the same tools he doesShowing the 15 most recent of 25 sources. Enable JavaScript to search and browse every indexed mention.