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submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Linus Torvalds Speaks on the the divide between Rust and C Linux developers an the future Linux. Will things like fragmentation among the open source community hurt the Linux Kernel? We'll listen to the Creator of Linux.

For the full key note, checkout: Keynote: Linus Torvalds in Conversation with Dirk Hohndel

The Register's summary: Torvalds weighs in on 'nasty' Rust vs C for Linux debate

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[-] [email protected] 444 points 2 days ago

I took notes for the benefit of anyone who doesn't like their info in video form. My attempt to summarize what Linus says:

He enjoys the arguments, it's nice that Rust has livened up the discussion. It shows that people care.

It's more contentious than it should be sometimes with religious overtones reminiscent of vi versus emacs. Some like it, some don't, and that's okay.

Too early to see if Rust in the kernel ultimately fails or succeeds, that will take time, but he's optimistic about it.

The kernel is not normal C. They use tools that enforce rules that are not part of the language, including memory safety infrastructure. This has been incrementally added over a long time, which is what allowed people to do it without the kind of outcry that the Rust efforts produce by trying to change things more quickly.

There aren't many languages that can deal with system issues, so unless you want to use assembler it's going to be C, C-like, or Rust. So probably there will be some systems other than Linux that do use Rust.

If you make your own he's looking forward to seeing it.

[-] [email protected] 40 points 2 days ago

C, C-like, or Rust

As always, Ada gets no respect.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

This is how they want to frame it. C has footguns, therefore use Rust—instead of Rust is one of the options you could use.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

I don't think Ada in the kernel would get any cultural acceptance. Rust has been hard enough. C++ was vehemently rejected decades ago though the reasons made some sense at the time. Adopting C++ today would be pretty crazy. I don't see much alternative to Rust (or in a different world, Ada) in the monolithic kernel. But Rust seems like it's still in beta test, and the kernel architecture itself seems like a legacy beast. Do you know of anything else? I can't take D or Eiffel or anything like that seriously. And part of it is the crappiness of the hardware companies. Maybe it will have to be left to future generations.

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this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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