this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
286 points (97.7% liked)

Linux

48182 readers
1960 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Linus Torvalds Speaks on the the divide between Rust and C Linux developers an the future Linux. Will things like fragmentation among the open source community hurt the Linux Kernel? We'll listen to the Creator of Linux.

For the full key note, checkout: Keynote: Linus Torvalds in Conversation with Dirk Hohndel

The Register's summary: Torvalds weighs in on 'nasty' Rust vs C for Linux debate

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] ProgrammingSocks@pawb.social 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Rust is harder to write but infinitely safer, and equivalent in speed.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 22 points 1 month ago (4 children)

It's harder to write because it forces you to be careful.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It forces you to be careful in the way it wants you to be careful. Which is fine, but it makes it a strange beastie for anyone not used to it.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yes

But the trade off is well worth it.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It can be, sure. I prefer garbage collectors but I'm not doing systems programming.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I feel like a garbage collector would be too much a performance hit for kernel stuff.

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

2 things:

  1. It's more the determinacy, a GC randomly fires up and your systems stops for some long amount of time. There are pauseless GCs but that's a different nightmare.

  2. The kernel has things similar to GCs. They're used for more specialized tasks, and some (like rcu) are absolute nightmares that have take decades to get working.

[–] nous@programming.dev 10 points 1 month ago

C is easier to get a program to compile. Rust is easier to get a program working correctly.

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And because it looks like C, JavaScript, Bash and a few others all mixed up together.

I've heard Rust described as “Rust is what you get when you put all the good features of other programming languages together. You can't read it, but it's freaking fast!”

[–] ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 1 points 1 month ago

Looking back on my comment, I don't know why I was thinking of Bash. It does look a lot like JavaScript/Typescript, and C.

[–] PushButton@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

it's more "it forces you to make it burrow checker friendly".

A burrow checker is not the only mechanism to write safe code. All the mess of Rust is all because this is the strategy they adopted.

And this strategy, like everything in this world, has trade offs. It just happens that there are a lot, like, - a lot -, of trade offs, and those are insufferable when it comes to Rust...

[–] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] qaz@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Gotta watch out for those rabbits messing with your kernel