Linux has been written in the C programming language for three decades, but change is possible.
The momentum behind making the Rust programming language a second C language for the Linux kernel is growing. Now Google is funding a project led by developer Miguel Ojeda. Rust will be used to write elements of the Linux kernel, which now care about some of the most critical parts of today’s Internet structure.
How does rust help the developers?
According to Google, Rust is designed to help reduce memory errors that lead to security flaws that make up most errors that technology companies and open source projects fix with each update. The goal is not to rewrite C code in Rust every 30 million lines but rather to write new code in Rust.
Despite some potential advantages, it remains unclear whether making Rust a second kernel development language will succeed. At the very least, Rust for Linux will be seen as a long-term project, and it is almost sure that version 5.14, currently under development and expected to be stable around the third quarter of 2021, will not be included in its Linux kernel. Key to the project was Spanish developer Miguel Ojeda, who managed the costs for introducing the Mozilla programming language for the Rust system hatched into the Linux kernel.
Rust and the Rust compiler are two key elements developers like, although the learning curve is relatively steep for those who know how to write in C and C++. In addition, rust has found financial and technical support from Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and others because the language can catch storage-related security issues before the code goes into production.
Linux, of course, is at the heart of most Internet infrastructure and runs most of the world’s cloud and web server infrastructure. However, the question remains the same doubt as to whether Linux creators like Linus Torvalds and other key kernel developers will refuse to accept Rust’s proposal.
The core of the Rust
Ojeda outlines some of Rust’s main improvements, including the frantic theme. In addition, the allocation is already compiled with the panic distribution method disabled to avoid errors when using it in the kernel, he said. So far, the Ojeda project has been using the evening version of the compiler (rust). The kernel can now be compiled with a beta and stable version of rust.
An essential part of the language, the Rust compiler provides developers with helpful error messages, tools, and assistance in assisting code completion in popular code editors such as Microsoft VS Code, VIM, and Intellij IDEA. However, much remains to be done. Ojeda notes that the Linux kernel still requires unstable functionality even when compiled with a stable version of rust.
Ojeda and his team are working on the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) for Rust, the GCC interface for Rust. The Arm-based system works with the Rust community to progress. In addition, the Rust Android team is evaluating a new Binder implementation where other drivers can use the Rust replacement. IBM also fully supports the Rust Linux kernel for Power-PC.
Torvalds raised a possible opposition to Ojeda’s offer for “endianness,” a concept of computer remembrance that goes to the big-endian (BE) or little-endian (LE) classes for the location of bytes in memory addresses. Regarding the registry, Torvalds says that Rust can be integrated into Linux 5.14 editions. The Rust project is open source code for Linux and can be viewed here on GitHub as open source.
