this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2025
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More Rust Code Is Coming For Linux 6.14 Along With Hitting Another "Major Milestone" (www.phoronix.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by petsoi@discuss.tchncs.de to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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[–] fluxx1@lemm.ee 4 points 2 weeks ago

As a rust developer, I'm biased, but I think it might be a great thing, if done properly. I've also done some kernel dev a while back and it's full of kernel-specific macros and conventions and boilerplate code. It would at least improve readability and reduce some boilerplate as well as improve on some common security bugs. But seeing as how different C is in kernel context to regular application, this may be the same for Rust, in which case I hope the devs know what they're doing, because it can easily get out of hand.

[–] blackberry@midwest.social 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

noob here, does this mean rust will come included on Linux, similar to python?

[–] jokro@feddit.org 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

No. It's only about the kernel itself, not Linux Systems(aka Distributions).

Earlier the kernel did only consist of C code, but for some time now the option to develop parts of the kernel in Rust is being worked on. In the end it both compiles to native machine code. The running kernel does not require the Rust toolchain to be present.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, Python requires a "runtime" program, which interprets the Python code and then translates it into native machine code to actually execute it. Because Rust is compiled directly to native machine code by the developer, you don't need a runtime program on your PC to run Rust programs.

This is also one of the biggest reasons why Rust can be used for kernel development. You cannot rely on a runtime program for developing a kernel, since launching a program requires a kernel to already be up and running.

[–] patatahooligan@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The other commenter already answers your quest, but I will just point out that python doesn't come included "on Linux". It just happens to be a dependency of so much stuff that some other packages is going to pull it in. A minimal distro which doesn't include programs written in python will probably not have python installed at all.

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That's kinda wild tbh, even Node applications don't need to pull in Node.

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

But then, Python is an interpreted language so you need the interpreter installed. You do need JavaScript's interpreter for Node applications IIRC

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Most of the time it's bundled in the application, unless it's a server app or a dev toolkit.

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 points 4 hours ago

Hah. Tell that to Mint and it's bundled software!

Although, Mint's not alone in this. In general, if Python came pre-installed on your Linux system, uninstalling it tends to break a whole bunch of pre-installed software.

[–] thingsiplay@beehaw.org 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The older the Kernel gets, the more Rust it will get.

[–] refalo@programming.dev 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What OSes do not have any Rust code?

[–] PushButton@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Handyman has the solution - literally!

[–] IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This thumbnail hurts to look at.

[–] milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you think the AI was just fed the title to make an image, and successfully combined "rust" and "os"?

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

I really hate AI image generation. It's theft and the result is always uncanny.

At least GPT is somewhat useful despite also being theft.

[–] Amaterasu@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I can't have an impression good or bad about this news. I'm not sure if Rust is an interesting thing. I saw people saying good things about it and other talking hellish about the number of dependencies.

I don't program for a long time. Used to like coding in C quite a lot.

[–] john89@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Hey man, if you want to understand something you have to see it for yourself.

Don't just look at online forums and try to discern what's factual. You need your own experience.

[–] Flipper@feddit.org 0 points 2 weeks ago

Rust libs for use in the kernel need an extra approval. But it turns out, whenever it's easier to just include a dependency doing what you need, instead of writing a bad version of it yourself, most people take a dependency.