Wouldn't Zig be more suitable than rust? In the Linux kernel

Wouldn't Zig be more suitable than rust? In the Linux kernel

[Manuel Quintero Fonseca]

The Zig compiler is compatible with C, Zig code is cleaner than Rust,
and they are both equally secure.

What do you think?

Note: I'm not an expert, it's just what you read in articles on the internet :D

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Re: Wouldn't Zig be more suitable than rust? In the Linux kernel

[Joshua Rose]

> The Zig compiler is compatible with C
So is Rust.

> Zig code is cleaner than Rust,
The standard library is a bit more readable, sure, but the overall 'cleanliness'
of either language is up for debate.

> and they are both equally secure.
If by 'secure' you mean safer, I believe Rust outshines Zig in memory safety.

Again, this is just from my research; I have only ever experimented with Rust so
I may be a bit biased.

--
- Joshua.

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Re: Wouldn't Zig be more suitable than rust? In the Linux kernel

[Jeffrey Walton]

On Mon, Sep 23, 2024 at 5:08 PM Manuel Quintero Fonseca
<manuel@uas.edu.mx> wrote:
>
> The Zig compiler is compatible with C, Zig code is cleaner than Rust,
> and they are both equally secure.
>
> What do you think?

The kernel needs more than Rust's incomplete x86_64 and i686 support.
Rust would actually have to have Tier 1 support for armel, armv7,
aarch64, loongarch64, mips{64}, powerpc{64}, riscv{64}, sparc{64},
s390x, and a wheelbarrow full of other minor architectures. See
<https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/rustc/platform-support.html>.

Zig would have to provide similar support.

I don't believe Rust or Zig would be much help at the moment.

Jeff

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Re: Wouldn't Zig be more suitable than rust? In the Linux kernel

[Richard]

> 
> What do you think?
> 
I'd like to add that sociological and organisational matters are often 
(and I think here too) more important than technical reasons. If one of 
the languages has a bigger community (and more importantly more people 
with the motivation to make it work for linux) that's what will make the 
difference. From what it looks like to me currently Rust has the better 
marketing and the bigger community.

It could also make a big difference if a company came up that champions 
one of the languages and wants to write kernel modules with it

-- Richard

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