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Rust's edition system allows the language frontend to be changed every few years.

• JoshTriplett 1y ago
  In particular, note that new Rust compiles code with both old and new editions. Upgrading Rust does not require you to move to the new edition. And one project can pull in crates from multiple editions. (Imagine if Python 3 let you import Python 2 modules seamlessly.)
  • 1718627440 1y ago
    That's nice, but I think at some point they will cut the old implementation, as otherwise they would end with hundreds of versions. And it doesn't exactly help to compile newer software on an older OS.
    • sunshowers 1y ago
      No, there's a commitment to not cut old editions. A new edition/frontend comes out every 3 years, so Rust (and maybe humanity) is probably going to be completely dead long before it has hundreds of versions.
    • steveklabnik 1y ago
      To elaborate on what sunshowers said, because editions only impact the early parts of the compiler, most of the code isn’t edition specific, which makes maintenance easy.