4 ms·

Wow that sounds fantastically optimistic, or pessimistic depending on your point of view I guess. Rewriting that amount of code in ten years sounds very very h

by unwind 4y ago

Wow that sounds fantastically optimistic, or pessimistic depending on your point of view I guess. Rewriting that amount of code in ten years sounds very very hard, at least.

ImprobableTruth 4y ago
They said a C-free build. For that you'd need to "just" rewrite the core kernel, which will be 150-200k lines, and the drivers + arch specific parts for one system. Still a tall order, but a decade isn't unrealistic if Rust proves itself. Now, rewriting everything, including all the legacy drivers? Yeah, never happening even if Rust succeeds utterly.
- chillingeffect 4y ago
  Once they get to that point, a new language will be available that makes up for the things Rust is still short on.
  - Sakos 4y ago
    Maybe there's a case to be made for a multi-language kernel. Rust is the first step. Maybe it'll make sense at some point to keep Rust, but add another language.
tristanbvk 4y ago
I don't see such a feat taking place in the next decade, you need highly dedicated people. I can see new code being written in Rust but a C free build sounds like something that really won't be happening anytime soon. I wish something like it could happen, but I am causyiously optimistic.
Sakos 4y ago
A significant amount of the lines of code in the kernel are for drivers (7 of 12 million lines?). A potential strategy would be to set a date where any new drivers must be written in Rust. Deprecate every non-Rust driver on a date after that. Focus on rewriting only the drivers necessary for current hardware platforms (and some sensible/arbitrary cut-off going back x years). Then set a final deadline for a New Linux kernel release that removes all deprecated/C drivers. I would blindly estimate that entire process to take 10-20 years (not including the time needed for debating the whole thing). Then somebody "just" needs to rewrite the rest of the code. So, uh, any volunteers?

by unwind 4y ago

Wow that sounds fantastically optimistic, or pessimistic depending on your point of view I guess. Rewriting that amount of code in ten years sounds very very hard, at least.

ImprobableTruth 4y ago

They said a C-free build. For that you'd need to "just" rewrite the core kernel, which will be 150-200k lines, and the drivers + arch specific parts for one system. Still a tall order, but a decade isn't unrealistic if Rust proves itself. Now, rewriting everything, including all the legacy drivers? Yeah, never happening even if Rust succeeds utterly.

chillingeffect 4y ago
Once they get to that point, a new language will be available that makes up for the things Rust is still short on.
- Sakos 4y ago
  Maybe there's a case to be made for a multi-language kernel. Rust is the first step. Maybe it'll make sense at some point to keep Rust, but add another language.

tristanbvk 4y ago

I don't see such a feat taking place in the next decade, you need highly dedicated people. I can see new code being written in Rust but a C free build sounds like something that really won't be happening anytime soon. I wish something like it could happen, but I am causyiously optimistic.

Sakos 4y ago

A significant amount of the lines of code in the kernel are for drivers (7 of 12 million lines?). A potential strategy would be to set a date where any new drivers must be written in Rust. Deprecate every non-Rust driver on a date after that. Focus on rewriting only the drivers necessary for current hardware platforms (and some sensible/arbitrary cut-off going back x years). Then set a final deadline for a New Linux kernel release that removes all deprecated/C drivers. I would blindly estimate that entire process to take 10-20 years (not including the time needed for debating the whole thing). Then somebody "just" needs to rewrite the rest of the code. So, uh, any volunteers?