Upcoming Rust language features for kernel development
15 hours ago
- #Programming Languages
- #Rust
- #Kernel Development
- The Rust for Linux project is driving the development of new Rust language features beneficial for kernel development.
- Three key upcoming Rust language features for kernel development are field projections, in-place initialization, and arbitrary self types.
- Field projections aim to generalize the ability to project pointers to structure fields, improving ergonomics for custom smart pointers in kernel code.
- Arbitrary self types would allow methods to accept smart pointers (like Pin or Arc) directly, simplifying method calls on wrapped types.
- In-place initialization seeks to make creating and initializing structures directly in their final memory location more ergonomic, benefiting large or pinned structures.
- The Rust for Linux project's focus helps prioritize and accelerate the development of these features by aligning volunteer efforts.
- Specialization and const functions in traits were also mentioned as desired features by kernel developers.
- The development of these features is collaborative, with kernel developers providing feedback and Rust language team members working on implementations.