Redox OS 0.5 Released With New C Library Written In Rust

[moltonel]

I would imagine it's mainly a bunch of no_mangle extern functions.

The Rust syntax is different than "no_mangle extern", but that's the idea.

Note that relibc is not a "C library", it is a "POSIX C standard library", which means that it provides a specific set of functions that most programs (whatever the language) rely on, like "open()" or "memcmp()". It's about the API, not the implementation.

[moltonel]

Rust language will not die unless Firefox dies.

Rust has gone far beyond Firefox in applications and Mozilla in backing entities. Rust is here to stay, independently of Firefox or Mozilla. Whether you like the language or not, you're going to see it used in more and more products, as many people see it as a superior alternative to C/C++ (and even others like Python) for many new and existing projects.

About Redox OS, I do not think they plan to replace Linux with it, I think about it more like a proof of concept to demonstrate that Rust is a perfectly valid language for systems programming. Maybe something like Servo, the experimental browser from Mozilla completely written in Rust.

IMHO Redox is much more than a proof of concept for the language, it's interesting as an OS in its own right. But if "replacing Linux" is the main thing that interests you, you should look closely at Fushia, Google's replacement for a Linux-based Android, which is largely written in Rust.

[wswartzendruber]

If it is written in Rust, can it still be called a C library?

I would imagine it's mainly a bunch of no_mangle extern functions.

[Michael_S]

Linus pounded out Linux from scratch in less than a year (using GNU tools and MINIX). HURD started with an already written kernel (Mach by CMU) and where are they now after decades? lol

Mach and HURD are microkernels, and nobody figured out how to make those work really well.

I am not an expert on this so I could be wrong, but as far as I know no widely used operating system today, proprietary or open, uses a microkernel. HURD was hamstrung by that design choice. (I know Debian GNU/HURD exists, but as far as I know it's an interesting toy and not used in production anywhere.)

[doom_Oo7]

If it is written in Rust, can it still be called a C library?

yes, just like for instance the microsoft C library has been implemented in C++ for a looong time.

[doom_Oo7]

HURD started with an already written kernel (Mach by CMU) and where are they now after decades? lol

At a state where more than 75% of Debian is available for HURD. How much of Debian works on Redox ? They barely got a libc.

[zoomblab]

If it is written in Rust, can it still be called a C library?

[pmarcelll]

When the Mozilla foundation has no resources to support the Alsa audio in Firefox, it is stupid to expect much from their programming language and OS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Foundation

Rust is more and more independent from Mozilla, and the author of Redox is an engineer at System76.

[Raka555]

Rust language will not die unless Firefox dies. They are introducing more and more Rust code in Firefox each day. And one of the reasons for the big performance improvement in Firefox Quantum is Rust. In Quantum it was the first time they introduced a big chunk of Rust code.

About Redox OS, I do not think they plan to replace Linux with it, I think about it more like a proof of concept to demonstrate that Rust is a perfectly valid language for systems programming. Maybe something like Servo, the experimental browser from Mozilla completely written in Rust.

If firefox is the show case for Rust, then all my hopes that they might shed a lot of bloat while rewriting everything in rust, are shattered ...

[DanL]

Sounds more like you have some serious issues learning new languages.

I'd guess that most (if not all) people with experience of a variety of languages have languages they like more than others. If one person states they dislike one language, why would you conclude s/he has trouble learning new languages (unless you disagree with that preference and are trying to be an a-hole)?