This is not true. C code is allowed to break Rust bindings. The Rust For Linux folks will then go fix it. The C side was repeatedly told this, but doesn’t seem to want to hear it.
I agree that in general the overall level of hostility in the kernel seems higher than ideal.
> I’ve only ever seen hostility from the C folks
I've seen that, too, but it looks to me that the hostility in that direction was a reaction to the hostility Rust folks have.
It takes two to tango, of course, but also devs are people, too. While it's not ideal, it's also understandable that people react poorly to being treated poorly.
Doesn't this mean that the change will have to be blocked until the Rust side is also fixed? Rust folks are eager to do it now, and there's a lot of "hype" around having Rust but is it going to be the same in, say, 15 years?
Userspace Rust is awesome ( aside from being a bit big), but I don't know if Rust in the kernel is proven yet (Time will literally tell).
You would think that by then either the Rust experiment has failed or the project has gained enough experienced developers such that maintaining such large refactors is feasible beyond heroics of the RfL folks. Either way it would be unlikely to be a problem then.
But in the meantime, how is the Linux project meant to evaluate what the maintenance burden is or wether the benefits outright the costs if the kernel maintainers doing the RfL work are being repeatedly stonewalled?
Rust is already in the Windows kernel. It’s being used in embedded devices and kernels in production. It has proven itself.
I do not think the C folks are being irresponsible. I think some of the C people are being obstinate, and deliberately trying to interfere with the experiment Linus asked to be carried out. There are others who have been quite supportive!
No, you are not. You are presenting your interpretation of the facts implying it’s truth in a way which is entirely typical of how Rust outreach has always been done. As usual, it’s more about emotion that facts. If you bring the Ruby playbook to a kernel discussion, you are not going to be well received.
Anyway, let me bit this bullet regarding the irresponsible comment:
"But I get the feeling that some Linux kernel maintainers just don't care about future code quality, or about stability or security any more […] They just want to keep their C code and wish us Rust folks would go away. And that's really sad... and isn't helping make Linux better."
Asahi Lina
