Linux 6.0 arrives with performance improvements and more Rust coming

https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-6-0-arrives-with-performance-improvements-and-more-rust-coming/

by signa11 • 4 years ago

42 15 4 years ago

lionkor3• 4 years ago

Im not really following kernel dev much, but I am a C and C++ programmer. Has the Rust panic() issue been resolved?

Does the lack of a standard, or even specification (code isn't a specification), not put a stop to this? I would expect a language in the kernel I run to at least have a stable specification or standard. I might be the old man screaming at the cloud.

mihaigalos• 4 years ago

code isn't a specification.

Code in the form of a test is.

It shows how you can interact with the system/component/unit under test.

klysm• 4 years ago

A test is not a specification unless it covers every possible input and output. That’s only possible in a very small set of cases.

lionkor3• 4 years ago

Tell me how code in the form of tests is not incredibly specific to a version and implementation of the thing youre testing?

A specification should specify behavior, edge cases, time complexity, possible pitfalls, etc.

Basically anything that is guaranteed (by the specification). A test may test a quirk of the implementation.

solar-ice• 4 years ago

The C bits of the kernel aren't even written closely to any C specification - they are written to, essentially, "what gcc does and is likely to keep doing". They also use a number of gcc extensions which are underspecified compared to C itself.

I'm not sure this is a real concern for the Linux kernel devs.

zaarn3• 4 years ago

What panic() Issue are you referring to?

IIRC there was only a concern around allocation but the rust std is moving to fallible allocations for that reason (and the rust integration seems to ship their own std lib anyway)

Otherwise there is no issue in redefining panic() to call the kernel oops handler and have the kernel perform a coredump.

signa11• 4 years ago

presumably this one: https://lkml.org/lkml/2021/4/14/1099 ?

mustache_kimono2• 4 years ago

Has the Rust panic() issue been resolved?

It's my understanding the Rust for Linux project has integrated custom fallible allocations (so, works for them, see: https://github.com/Rust-for-Linux/linux/pull/402), but the fallible allocator API is not yet stabilized for Rust itself (see: https://github.com/Rust-for-Linux/linux/issues/2).

I would expect a language in the kernel I run to at least have a stable specification or standard.

I hear this occasionally, and I guess I'd like to better understand it. If a document existed that was called "The Rust Specification", why/how would that be significant for kernel development?

lionkor3• 4 years ago

If there is a specification, one can write code for a version of that specification, and later down the line someone can build a compiler for it according to the specification - youre implementation-independent. Seems important to me.

Linux 6.0 arrives with performance improvements and more Rust coming

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