this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024
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One Of The Rust Linux Kernel Maintainers Steps Down - Cites "Nontechnical Nonsense" (www.phoronix.com)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Wedson Almeida Filho is a Microsoft engineer who has been prolific in his contributions to the Rust for the Linux kernel code over the past several years. Wedson has worked on many Rust Linux kernel features and even did a experimental EXT2 file-system driver port to Rust. But he's had enough and is now stepping away from the Rust for Linux efforts.

From Wedon's post on the kernel mailing list:

I am retiring from the project. After almost 4 years, I find myself lacking the energy and enthusiasm I once had to respond to some of the nontechnical nonsense, so it's best to leave it up to those who still have it in them.

...

I truly believe the future of kernels is with memory-safe languages. I am no visionary but if Linux doesn't internalize this, I'm afraid some other kernel will do to it what it did to Unix.

Lastly, I'll leave a small, 3min 30s, sample for context here: https://youtu.be/WiPp9YEBV0Q?t=1529 -- and to reiterate, no one is trying force anyone else to learn Rust nor prevent refactorings of C code."

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[–] rollmagma 98 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's always been this way. Except that it was kernel developers arguing with kernel developers over C code. Now it's relative newcomers arguing with kernel developers over Rust code that the kernel devs don't necessarily care about. Of course it's going to be a mess.

A fork is of course possible, but operating systems are huge and very complex, you really don't want to alienate these folks that have been doing exclusively this for 30 years. It would be hard to keep the OS commercially viable with a smaller group and having to do both the day to day maintenance, plus the rewrite. It's already difficult as it is currently.

Rust will be a huge success in time, long after the current names have lost their impetus. This is not a "grind for 4 years and it's done" project.