Linux kernel bug analysis

Coverity produces a tool that analyses source code and discovers defects. Coverity has spent some time analysing source for Linux and has published a report looking at the bugs in Linux kernel 2.6.9. This is interesting research, but it's probably not accurate to report, as Wired.com did that "Linux: Fewer Bugs Than Rivals", if only because similar analyses were not done on those rivals. This seems to be another bit of interesting research that Linux advocates will point to as proof of Linux superiority. Meanwhile MS points out it's MS Research group has doing this sort of analysis since the late 90s, gradually moving its research into shipping products. Tools like PREfix and PREfast are widely deployed inside MS at least, and account for something like 1/6th of all bugs found in Server 2003.