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Software Code Statistics
- The Android operating system has 12-15 million lines of code.
- The Linux kernel has 27.8 million lines of code.
- Debian Linux distribution has 419 million lines of code.
Code Comparison Across Systems
- An average iPhone app has under 50,000 lines.
- All Google services total 2 billion lines.
- Microsoft Windows XP has 45 million lines.
- Mac OS X has over 86 million lines.
- MS-DOS had 4,000 lines and Windows NT 2 million.
Software Code Complexity
- Some large software packages contain millions or billions of lines written by teams.
- For proprietary software, the source code is usually secret.
- With open-source programs, companies may disclose code size.
Code Quantity in Various Applications
- The control software for a U.S. military drone has 3.5 million lines.
- Code behind machines like fighter jets and video games falls between smartphone apps and operating systems.
- A million printed lines would be 18,000 pages.
- That’s more than old technologies like the Space Shuttle, a pacemaker or Quake 3 game engine.
- But it’s less than what runs modern software.
Understanding Code Volume
- The range varies from small projects consisting of a few hundred to a few thousand lines of code.