More Rust Code Is Coming For Linux 6.14 Along With Hitting Another "Major Milestone" (www.phoronix.com)
from petsoi@discuss.tchncs.de to linux@lemmy.ml on 20 Jan 2025 12:40
https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/28915220

#linux

threaded - newest

thingsiplay@beehaw.org on 20 Jan 2025 13:46 next collapse

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

petsoi@discuss.tchncs.de on 20 Jan 2025 14:11 next collapse

šŸ˜‚

ravermeister@lemmy.rimkus.it on 20 Jan 2025 18:32 collapse

šŸ¤£šŸ‘Œ

blackberry@midwest.social on 20 Jan 2025 17:18 next collapse

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

jokro@feddit.org on 20 Jan 2025 17:27 next collapse

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 on 20 Jan 2025 19:59 collapse

Yeah, Python requires a ā€œruntimeā€ 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.

thingsiplay@beehaw.org on 21 Jan 2025 03:11 next collapse

This only means programmers of Linux itself can use Rust to program the Kernel. In example if Rust programmers are good at it, they can use the language over something they are not good at it like C in example. You as the end user does not see any direct difference. Like with any other application if its written in Rust or in C, it does not matter much if you use the binary executable.

patatahooligan@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 17:30 collapse

The other commenter already answers your quest, but I will just point out that python doesn’t come included ā€œon Linuxā€. 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 on 22 Jan 2025 22:48 collapse

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

lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network on 05 Feb 2025 20:33 collapse

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 on 05 Feb 2025 21:46 collapse

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

lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network on 06 Feb 2025 11:42 collapse

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.

IrritableOcelot@beehaw.org on 20 Jan 2025 18:47 next collapse

This thumbnail hurts to look at.

milicent_bystandr@lemm.ee on 21 Jan 2025 16:12 collapse

Do you think the AI was just fed the title to make an image, and successfully combined ā€œrustā€ and ā€œosā€?

isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca on 22 Jan 2025 22:50 collapse

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.

refalo@programming.dev on 20 Jan 2025 22:14 next collapse

What OSes do not have any Rust code?

PushButton@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 01:06 collapse

Bsd

MITM0@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 17:41 collapse

Yeah wait a while, it’ll get there too

PushButton@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 23:06 collapse

Tell the guy who is using it, not me…

Amaterasu@lemmy.world on 20 Jan 2025 23:33 next collapse

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 on 21 Jan 2025 15:57 next collapse

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.

Amaterasu@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 16:22 collapse

Agree. I was just pointing that since I’m out of the scene I can’t have an opinion.

Flipper@feddit.org on 21 Jan 2025 17:08 collapse

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.

PushButton@lemmy.world on 21 Jan 2025 01:09 next collapse

Handyman has the solution - literally!

fluxx1@lemm.ee on 21 Jan 2025 17:41 collapse

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.