Zack's Kernel News
Zack's Kernel News
In kernel news: Rust in Linux; and Compiler and Kernel Frenemies.
Rust in Linux
A fascinating aspect of Linux kernel development has been the attempts to switch away from C and assembly language to something else like C++. Linus Torvalds is notorious for caring a lot about the beauty of the kernel code as well as important features such as CPU and RAM usage and security. For him to accept any other language, it would have to be a pretty amazing language. For comparison, the developers tried adding C++ support to the kernel in the late 1990s, but it didn't pass muster.
The Rust programming language is the first serious attempt by kernel developers to add support to the kernel since then. Linus allowed a rudimentary first attempt to go into kernel version 6.1 in late 2022. Since then, many more Rust patches have been submitted. Unlike the case with C++, Rust doesn't seem to be leaving any time soon. Instead, it seems as though Linus is fairly committed to giving it a real try.
It's a surprising decision because Rust is so new. Rust was invented in 2006 while C++ was invented in 1979. Even today, Rust has hardly taken over the world. And yet it has been given this amazing pride of place in the Linux kernel. I'm not denigrating! It's fascinating to consider Rust's characteristics that would place it even above C++ as being welcome into the kernel development process. However, it's not at all surprising that Linus would evaluate a new language based on its merits rather than its popularity.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.