[Info-vax] Userland programming languages on VMS.

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 1/31/2022 8:13 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2022-01-30, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> On 1/30/2022 7:20 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>> On 2022-01-29, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>> And it is not just me.
>>>>
>>>> The rust people are rewriting GNU Coreutils (C) in
>>>> rust.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Rust-Coreutils-Jan-2022
>>>>
>>>
>>> Let me know when the Rust compiler runs on all the architectures
>>> that Linux runs on. :-)
>>
>> They are missing some.
>>
>> Rust supports x86, x86-64, ARM, MIPS, PPC, RISC-V and mainframe.
>>
>> So they are missing Alpha, PA, Itanium, SPARC and several
>> lesser ones.
>>
>> But who actually runs Linux on one of those?
>>
> 
> The point is that the Linux kernel is built around portability to
> whatever architecture you want to run it on.
> 
> You can get a C compiler for everything someone could be interested
> in running the Linux kernel on. However, until you can make the same
> guarantee for Rust, then Rust will be restricted to the non-core
> parts of the Linux kernel (ie: some device drivers) because otherwise
> Rust suddenly becomes the reason why you can't run Linux on some
> specialist architecture.

It is obviously an issue.

And it is known that for now the focus is on drivers.

But Linux Torvalds said "Rust's primary first target seems
to be drivers, ..." and Greg Kroah-Hartman said "drivers are
probably the first place for an attempt like this ...".

Their usage of the word "first" indicate that Rust may
be used in other parts as well later.

Arne