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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/02/linux-leaders-pave-a-path-for-rust-in-kernel-while-supporting-c-veterans/ [arstechnica.com]

Rust, a modern and notably more memory-safe language than C, once seemed like it was on a steady, calm, and gradual approach into the Linux kernel.

In 2021, Linux kernel leaders, like founder and leader Linus Torvalds himself, were impressed with the language but had a "wait and see" approach [arstechnica.com]. Rust for Linux [rust-for-linux.com] gained supporters and momentum, and in October 2022, Torvalds approved a pull request adding support for Rust code in the kernel [theregister.com].

By late 2024, however, Rust enthusiasts were frustrated with stalls and blocks on their efforts, with the Rust for Linux lead quitting over "nontechnical nonsense [rust-for-linux.com]."
[...]
over the last two months, things in one section of the Linux Kernel Mailing List have gotten tense and may now be heading toward resolution—albeit one that Torvalds does not think "needs to be all that black-and-white."
[...]
Hector Martin, the lead of the Asahi Linux project, resigned from the list of Linux maintainers while also departing the Asahi project, citing burnout and frustration with roadblocks to implementing Rust in the kernel [arstechnica.com].
[...]
Christoph Hellwig, maintainer of the Direct Memory Access (DMA) API, was opposed to Rust code in his section on the grounds that a cross-language codebase was painful to maintain.
[...]
Hellwig posted a longer missive [lkml.org], outlining his opposition to Rust bindings—or translations of Rust libraries that can work with equivalents in C—and continuing with his prior comparison of such multi-language allowances to "cancer."
[...]
Torvalds' response from Thursday [lkml.org] does offer some clarification on Rust bindings in the kernel, but also on what die-hard C coders can and cannot control.

Maintainers like Hellwig who do not want to integrate Rust do not have to. But they also cannot dictate the language or manner of code that touches their area of control but does not alter it. The pull request Hellwig objected to "DID NOT TOUCH THE DMA LAYER AT ALL," Torvalds writes (all-caps emphasis his), and was "literally just another user of it, in a completely separate subdirectory."
[...]
Torvalds writes Hellwig that "I respect you technically, and I like working with you," and that he likes when Hellwig "call[s] me out on my bullshit," as there "needs to be people who just stand up to me and tell me I'm full of shit." But, Torvalds writes, "Now I'm calling you out on *YOURS*."
[...]
In an earlier response to the "Rust kernel policy" topic, Kroah-Hartman suggests [lkml.org] that, "As someone who has seen almost EVERY kernel bugfix and security issue for the past 15+ years … I think I can speak on this topic."

As the majority of bugs are due to "stupid little corner cases in C that are totally gone in Rust," Koah-Hartman is "wanting to see Rust get into the kernel," so focus can shift to more important bugs. While there are "30 million lines of C code that isn't going anywhere any year soon," new code and drivers written in Rust are "a win for all of us, why wouldn't we do this?"
[...]
Rust may or may not become an ascendant language in the kernel. But maintaining C as the dominant language, to the point of actively tamping down even non-direct interaction with any C code, did not seem like a viable long-term strategy.

Previously on SoylentNews:
Torvalds Weighs In On 'Nasty' Rust Vs C For Linux Debate [soylentnews.org] - 20240923
"Rust for Linux" Lead Retires Rather Than Deal With More “Nontechnical Nonsense” [soylentnews.org] - 20240904
Linux Kernel 6.10 Arrives [soylentnews.org] - 20240717
Linus Torvalds Is Annoyed With Linux Developers' Late Kernel Homework [soylentnews.org] - 20221018
Linus Torvalds: Rust Will Go Into Linux 6.1 [soylentnews.org] - 20220919

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