As the Kernel Turns: Rust in Linux Saga Reaches the “Linus in All-Caps” Phase
Freeman writes:
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. Rust for Linux gained supporters and momentum, and in October 2022, Torvalds approved a pull request adding support for Rust code in the kernel.
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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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Hellwig posted a longer missive, 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."
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Torvalds' response from Thursday does offer some clarification on Rust bindings in the kernel, but also on what die-hard C coders can and cannot control.
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