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Google says replacing C/C++ in firmware with Rust is easy (www.theregister.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Google recently rewrote the firmware for protected virtual machines in its Android Virtualization Framework using the Rust programming language and wants you to do the same, assuming you deal with firmware.

In a write-up on Thursday, Android engineers Ivan Lozano and Dominik Maier dig into the technical details of replacing legacy C and C++ code with Rust.

"You'll see how easy it is to boost security with drop-in Rust replacements, and we'll even demonstrate how the Rust toolchain can handle specialized bare-metal targets," said Lozano and Maier.

Easy is not a term commonly heard with regard to a programming language known for its steep learning curve.

Nor is it easy to get C and C++ developers to see the world with Rust-tinted lenses. Just last week, one of the maintainers of the Rust for Linux project - created to work Rust code into the C-based Linux kernel - stepped down, citing resistance from Linux kernel developers.

"Here's the thing, you're not going to force all of us to learn Rust," said a Linux kernel contributor during a lively discussion earlier this year at a conference.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's a lot easily than learning the C to the same level and they "force" everyone to learn C.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Sure for newcomers to a project like the Linux kernel they have to learn C , because that is what the project is currently written in, but trying to transition the Linux kernel to rust forces people who already are contributing to go and learn rust to be able to continue what they were already doing. And sure you can argue that it's being done so not everything has to go over at once, but there is a level of rust knowledge required at the interface between the two languages, and that burden is as far as I've seen being forced on those long term contributors.

It's not the same thing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

and that burden is as far as I’ve seen being forced on those long term contributors.

This is not what is happening. The current long term contributors were asked to clarify semantics about C APIs, so the Rust maintainers could take it from there. At no point were the C maintainers asked to help maintain the Rust bindings.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sure, but it's very similar. The point is that those people didn't get to choose the language they're using and now someone is forcing them to use a specific language. They've always been forced to use a specific language.

I guess it just think "I don't want to learn" is a lame excuse.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How about "To learn it to that level will take 10,000 hours I don't have"? Does that make more sense to you?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

No because it doesn't remotely take that long.