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I believe Google is putting too much effort into bringing interop between C++ and Rust. Why not simply rewrite the core of Chromium in Rust? I mean, if a handf

I believe Google is putting too much effort into bringing interop between C++ and Rust. Why not simply rewrite the core of Chromium in Rust? I mean, if a handful guys at SerenityOS can write a web browser from scratch in just a few years surely Google can muster enough manpower to rewrite Chromium in Rust in a couple of years? Interop is wasteful since there's a large discrepancy between C++ and Rust code. Trying to plug the holes will lead to an inferior product at great cost.

steveklabnik 4y ago
How would the "core" be Rust and the rest of it be in C++, yet there be no "interop"?
encryptluks2 4y ago
The Serenity browser wasn't much better than netsurf last time I checked, in fact it was in many ways worse so I don't think they really compare in any substance at this point. Why don't you do it if it is so easy?
azakai 4y ago
SerenityOS's LadyBird browser is an impressive project, but it doesn't prove that you can rewrite something like Chromium in a few years. It does prove you can get something working. But it will take many more years to actually get to feature parity given the long tail of web APIs. It will also take many more years to be competitive on performance with existing engines. And even if you use a memory-safe language you'll be introducing many other bugs along the way. This doesn't diminish the LadyBird browser in any way! It can still be useful for many people in many ways.
- blub 4y ago
  Many of those web APIs are things Google forces down everyone’s throats to have something at least on paper resembling feature parity with native applications.
  - Volt 4y ago
    Are you saying Safari had the right idea? Because I agree.
- UltraViolence 4y ago
  Mind you that only a handful of developers worked on LadyBird and it has Javascript and CSS working. LadyBird only needs video and WebRTC to be fully functional for day-to-day use by non-power users. WebSockets and WebGL would be nice too, but that will take some time. Most other API's are cruft, such as WebUSB (a Google contraption that more or less ignores security).
kibibu 4y ago
> Why not simply rewrite the core of Chromium in Rust? Simply rewrite the core of a browser that has been in development since 1998. Easy.

steveklabnik 4y ago

How would the "core" be Rust and the rest of it be in C++, yet there be no "interop"?

encryptluks2 4y ago

The Serenity browser wasn't much better than netsurf last time I checked, in fact it was in many ways worse so I don't think they really compare in any substance at this point. Why don't you do it if it is so easy?

azakai 4y ago

SerenityOS's LadyBird browser is an impressive project, but it doesn't prove that you can rewrite something like Chromium in a few years. It does prove you can get something working. But it will take many more years to actually get to feature parity given the long tail of web APIs. It will also take many more years to be competitive on performance with existing engines. And even if you use a memory-safe language you'll be introducing many other bugs along the way. This doesn't diminish the LadyBird browser in any way! It can still be useful for many people in many ways.

blub 4y ago
Many of those web APIs are things Google forces down everyone’s throats to have something at least on paper resembling feature parity with native applications.
- Volt 4y ago
  Are you saying Safari had the right idea? Because I agree.
UltraViolence 4y ago
Mind you that only a handful of developers worked on LadyBird and it has Javascript and CSS working. LadyBird only needs video and WebRTC to be fully functional for day-to-day use by non-power users. WebSockets and WebGL would be nice too, but that will take some time. Most other API's are cruft, such as WebUSB (a Google contraption that more or less ignores security).

kibibu 4y ago

> Why not simply rewrite the core of Chromium in Rust? Simply rewrite the core of a browser that has been in development since 1998. Easy.