[linuxftw]

Stable doesn't necessarily mean 'doesn't crash' what it means is that the API/ABI interface is stable.

EG: let's say libfoo.so.1 implements DO_FOO; libfoo.so.2 implements DO_FOO2, but not DO_FOO. In this case, anything you need that links to libfoo.so.1 and needs DO_FOO would need to be patched, recompiled, and shipped out to all your customers. For the distribution provider, this is not really a huge deal. But RHEL is merely the platform. The value-add is that 3rd parties can write software and compile against libs and know they're not going to break arbitrarily.

Similarly, if you've ever written a kernel driver, you'd know that kernel function names and signatures can change from release to release. The same example above applies to kernel code as well. So, compiled binary drivers would have to be patched and recompiled, and shipped out. If you're writing a driver for a network card, would you prefer having to ship your (non bug) driver updates every few months, or every few years?