Should the Linux Kernel Accept Drivers Written In Rust?

mood · Sep 1, 2019

Should the Linux Kernel Accept Drivers Written In Rust?

https://lwn.net/Articles/797714/
A good start would be to make it possible to write some kinds of drivers in Rust. This would already be quite a lot of work --- integrating Rust into the Linux build system, writing Rust wrappers around kernel APIs --- but much has already done experimentally. There's a good chance that encouraging people to submit their wacky drivers in Rust would improve the quality of the driver, partly because you can focus attention on the unsafe parts (if any ... many Linux drivers probably don't need much or any unsafe code).

https://lwn.net/Articles/797828/
I have, yes. I spoke with Greg Kroah-Hartman, and he said he'd be willing to accept a framework in the kernel for writing drivers in Rust, as long as 1) for now it wasn't enabled by default (even if you did "make allyesconfig") so that people don't *need* Rust to build the kernel, and 2) it shows real benefits beyond writing C, such as safe wrappers for kernel APIs.

I'd be happy to talk with someone interested in writing such a framework.
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“Rust is the future of systems programming, C is the new Assembly”: Intel principal engineer, Josh Triplett

mood · Sep 1, 2020

Linux Developers Continue Evaluating The Path To Adding Rust Code To The Kernel
August 27, 2020
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-Kernel-Rust-Path-LPC2020

As mentioned back in July, upstream Linux developers have been working to figure out a path for adding Rust code to the Linux kernel. That topic is now being further explored at this week's virtual Linux Plumbers Conference and it's still looking like it will happen, it's just a matter of when the initial infrastructure will be in place and how slowly the rollout will be.

Back in July, Linus Torvalds shared his thoughts on Rust within the Linux kernel tree and didn't shoot down the idea just his preference on how it be handled, basically having it be enabled if Rust is present on the system.
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Nothing firm has been determined yet but it's a topic that is still being discussed at the virtual LPC this week and surely over the weeks/months ahead on the kernel mailing list.
There is Rust-For-Linux on GitHub with a prototype kernel module implementation. There is also the PDF slides from today's talk on the matter.
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Linux Plumbers Conference 2020 - LLVM MC: "Barriers to in-tree Rust"
(PDF - 378 KB): https://linuxplumbersconf.org/event/7/contributions/804/attachments/641/1168/barriers-to-in-tree-rust.pdf

imdb · Oct 7, 2022

The next version of the Linux kernel will include support for popular programming language Rust, it has been confirmed.

As reported by The Register, Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, has now accepted a pull request that will bring Rust support to the kernel with version 6.1.

The idea is not to rebuild the entire kernel in Rust, but rather to complement the existing C codebase with new components written in the secondary language, helping to reduce the likelihood of memory bugs that lead to security vulnerabilities.
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One of the world's most popular programming languages is coming to Linux by Joel Khalili

summerheat · Oct 7, 2022

This is definitely a good move. It will not make the Linux kernel more secure short-term but long-term the benefits will be obvious. Microsoft's Mark Russinovich was aboslutely right in his remarks about Rust:

Russinovich urged the technology industry to leave C/C++ behind. "Speaking of languages, it's time to halt starting any new projects in C/C++ and use Rust for those scenarios where a non-[garbage collected] language is required," he said. "For the sake of security and reliability, the industry should declare those languages as deprecated."
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mood · Nov 11, 2022

Rust Developers Move Ahead With Preparing To Upstream More Code Into The Linux Kernel
by Michael Larabel @michaellarabel - November 11, 2022

With the upcoming Linux 6.1 kernel release there is the initial Rust infrastructure merged for enabling the use of the Rust programming language for future kernel drivers and other kernel code. But that state in Linux 6.1 is the very basics and not yet practical while now a secondary sent of "Rust for Linux" patches have been sent out for enabling more kernel development to happen with Rust.

Miguel Ojeda who has been leading the Rust for Linux effort sent out a set of 28 patches on Thursday that provide more Rust core additions to the kernel. Ojeda explained in the patch series this latest big patch series: [...]
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Given that this code has been in linux-next for a while and already saw some review as part of the original Rust for Linux patch series, it's quite possible we could see this work ready in time for the Linux 6.2 merge window next month. We'll see. In any case the Rust for Linux train continues rolling on.

Once all this Rust infrastructure is in place, we'll see how long it takes before more prominent, real-world drivers begin transitioning over to Rust code either for new hardware support or rewriting existing C driver code in Rust. One of the first major users of Rust in the Linux kernel is expected to be the DRM driver for the Apple M1/M2 graphics.
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