After almost two years of development a release of Busybox 1.37 has been presented. Busybox is a package that implements a set of standard UNIX utilities in the form of a single executable file, optimized for minimal consumption of system resources with a size of less than 1 MB. The first production of the new branch 1.37 is considered unstable, with full stabilization expected in version 1.37.1 in the coming months. The project code is distributed under the GPLV2 license.
BusyBox’s modular nature allows for the formation of a unified executable file containing a customizable set of utilities. The package is self-sufficient and with static assembly with UCLIBC, it can create a working system on top of the Linux kernel with a few configurations required. Compared to the previous release of 1.36, Busybox 1.37 uses slightly more RAM, with a standard assembly increasing by 1535 bytes (from 1022792 to 1024327 bytes).
Busybox is a crucial tool in combating GPL violations in firmware. Organizations such as the Software Freedom Conservance (SFC) and Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) have successfully pursued companies that did not provide access to the source code of GPL programs using Busybox. Yet, the author of Busybox objects to this protection, believing it hinders his business.
Among the noticeable changes in Busybox 1.37 include the implementation of the Getfattr utility for showing advanced attributes of files, optional support for the bootp protocol in UDHCPD, and new functionalities in various utilities such as hwclock, IP Link, Find, Ash, Hush, AWK, OD, and Time. These updates enhance the utility and compatibility of Busybox with other systems.