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'Maybe the problem is you' ... Linus Torvalds wades into Linux kernel Rust driver drama
(www.theregister.com)
this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2025
369 points (97.7% liked)
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it's a different technology and paradigm that the old guard would have to take considerable time to learn to be as productive as they are in C. it requires a different way of thinking about systems.
basically the rust-in-kernel-gang includes none of the "main" kernel team because they are busy building the kernel. this is an experiment to see if a second programming language can be successfully integrated into the kernel at all. if they try to force their way in, that's going to cause problems for everyone.
Okey,
Same old story with any project with different generations. Looks like the old guys are in the wrong - wont be here forever and there by have to let in new ideas and ways.
I think this comment encapsulates the problem well: laymen who are not involved in the process in any way (on either side) acting like armchair experts and passing harsh judgement. You're making some very unfair assumptions based on age, and nothing about the actual technical arguments.
This is why people like Martin feel justified going on social media to publicly complain, because they know they'll get a bunch of yesmen with no credible arguments to mindlessly harrass the developers they disagree with. It's childish and unproductive, and while I've personally respected Martin as a developer for a long time, I don't believe he's mature enough to be involved in the Rust for Linux effort (tbf, he's not the only Rust dev with this attitude). If the project fails, it will be because of this behavior, not because of the "old guys" being stubborn.
I don't care about age, if your sharp - your sharp. Old guys where more describing those in charge not wanting to let anyone in who doesn't do things like they do. Just thought "old guards" sounded so... lame.
Seen this a bounch of times in other projects and it ends up with good ambitious people leaving. Young blood that in the long run is needed to keep a project like this alive.