One Of The Rust Linux Kernel Maintainers Steps Down - Cites "Nontechnical Nonsense"

[phoronix]

Phoronix: One Of The Rust Linux Kernel Maintainers Steps Down - Cites "Nontechnical Nonsense"

One of the several Rust for Linux kernel maintainers has decided to step away from the project. The move is being driven at least in part due to having to deal with increased "nontechnical nonsense" raised around Rust programming language use within the Linux kernel...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Rust-Linux-Maintainer-Step-Down

[Sonadow]

I truly believe the future of kernels is with memory-safe languages. I am no visionary but if Linux doesn't internalize this, I'm afraid some other kernel will do to it what it did to Unix.

Sounds like the kernel maintainers are stonewalling many aspects of Rust integration.

[timrichardson]

The youtube link is interesting. The argument made by an audience member is that supporting Rust requires barriers to C development progressing which are unacceptable to maintainers (at least in the opinion of the person speaking), and this must be the "non technical nonesense" since that youtube link goes specifically to that comment.
Legacy technology, and firms, get replaced by innovation sometimes, but there is a big case of survivor bias here: only the successful innovations are remembered, not all the innovations that failed to disrupt the incumbent. The linux project is proceeding very cautiously, surely it has to. That doesn't stop someone doing a Rust kernel. I wonder what the compile time experience will be like.

[jarekZ]

Result<Either<ARef<Inode blah blah blah

well it's not surprising at all when *any sensible person* starts harshly arguing against the inclusion of such a thing into the project

[Daktyl198]

Can't wait for all of the comments on this forum to prove his point. Too many people hate Rust due to it's fanbase rather than any technical reason, and they consistently do everything they can to push against it's existence due to it. Linus has accepted Rust into the kernel for good reasons, and yet people still debate it like they have any say on the matter and push back at every opportunity.

Rust is in the kernel, which means it's staying in the kernel. And it seems to be going really well.

[ayumu]

It's even more unfortunate that Linus allowed Rust into the kernel at all.

The answer should have been a simple no.

Developers who believe in Rust in the kernel should just go make their own Rust kernel (or join e.g. redox), rather than try and shove it into an existing project.

[shmerl]

It's even more unfortunate that Linus allowed Rust into the kernel at all.

The answer should have been a simple no.

It was the best decision. The "no" answer is probably what that commenter from the audience in the video wanted. But let him become obsolete if he is so strongly attached to C that he can't see beyond it. Apparently Linus can, but some backwards looking people probably can't.

[Sethox]

A discussion is as much a social interaction like any other, and discussions has context and social queues. At face value a no is just a very ill-explained reason in most contexts, but also be a no that just specific to an angle that wouldn't work; meaning that the angle has to be twisted/changed/modified/refined in a better description (for an explanation to become at the right wavelength) for the opponent that is saying no.

This is exhausting, but has to be there for a proper discussion, not everyone got the patience for this (everyone is built different).

[Scellow]

rewriting everything in rust = sabotage

whenever there is poop, there is microsoft

[NeoMorpheus]

Wow you really called it…