More Rust Code Readied For Linux 6.3 - Closer To Having Rust Drivers Upstreamed

[phoronix]

Phoronix: More Rust Code Readied For Linux 6.3 - Closer To Having Rust Drivers Upstreamed

While initial Rust code was merged for Linux 6.1, it's not yet used by any kernel drivers or functionality for end-users and the integration and other abstractions for Rust are still being established. With the upcoming Linux 6.3 cycle, more of that Rust groundwork is set to be merged and nearing the point of Rust-written kernel modules/drivers will be able to be upstreamed...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Rust-Linux-6.3-Changes

[jeisom]

Are there any other drivers currently being written in rust other than the Apple Silicon gpu driver yet? I know it isn't upstreamed yet, but it is currently a functional driver written in rust.

[uid313]

Bjarne Stroustrup the father behind C++ says that C++ has unfairly got a bad reputation and claims that modern C++ is much more safe and secure than it used to be back in the days and that they're working on improving C++ to make it even more safe and secure.

Linux doesn't use C++ but maybe such changes can find themselves back in C with newer versions of the C language?
Is C2x getting any safety improvements?

[Vorpal]

Bjarne Stroustrup the father behind C++ says that C++ has unfairly got a bad reputation and claims that modern C++ is much more safe and secure than it used to be back in the days and that they're working on improving C++ to make it even more safe and secure.

Linux doesn't use C++ but maybe such changes can find themselves back in C with newer versions of the C language?
Is C2x getting any safety improvements?

Linus hates C++, so that is never going to happen. Besides, Stroustrup's reply has been criticised as being incorrect. See for example https://www.thecodedmessage.com/post...trup-response/ (from a pro-rust person). I pretty much agree with that blog post myself.

Retrofitting proper safety onto C++ hasn't been done, and doesn't look like it will be done any time soon. So what C++ could maybe possibly become is pretty irrelevant for decisions right now.

As for newer C versions, the changes have been much more conservative than to C++. So, no, newer C won't help.

[StarterX4]

Maybe now time for Go to get upstreamed as well?

[uid313]

Maybe now time for Go to get upstreamed as well?

That would complicate the toolchain with more build steps, more dependencies, etc.
I would rather not they add too many languages to the Linux kernel, it will just be a mess, it is better to stick to as few as possible. Ideally everything would be 100% Rust, but that is just a dream world, there will always be some Assembly and huge part of C.

[moltonel]

Are there any other drivers currently being written in rust other than the Apple Silicon gpu driver yet? I know it isn't upstreamed yet, but it is currently a functional driver written in rust.

A quick github search finds quite a few repos for smaller drivers, with varied levels of liveness/maturity. I expect most of the linux rust driver work will stay under the radar until there's a kernel release with all the necessary plumbing to enable a trivial merge. For example at $DAYJOB we have a couple of small rust drivers that will hopefully be deployed production in the next few months, but will take much longer before they're ready to be published with a PR.

[Weasel]

Linus hates C++, so that is never going to happen. Besides, Stroustrup's reply has been criticised as being incorrect. See for example https://www.thecodedmessage.com/post...trup-response/ (from a pro-rust person). I pretty much agree with that blog post myself.

That guy literally said "as will most programmers", despite C++ being far more popular than Rust.

Sounds to me like he's living in a big delusion like all "Rustaceans".

[moltonel]

That would complicate the toolchain with more build steps, more dependencies, etc.

The bigger show-stopper is that Go's runtime make it completely unsuitable for use in the kernel. And to be honest, even if that was solved, I don't see what benefit Go would bring to the kernel. The devs want a language that's more powerful than C, not less. This isn't an attack against Go: Go is a fine language in its application domain, but it just doesn't fit here.

[mmstick]

That guy literally said "as will most programmers", despite C++ being far more popular than Rust.

Sounds to me like he's living in a big delusion like all "Rustaceans".

Rust has been the most loved programming language in each annual StackOverflow survey for the last seven years. So it would seem that the person living in a big delusion is yourself.