Redox OS - an OS built entirely out of Rust

ChiefSinner@lemm.ee to Linux@lemmy.ml – 243 points –
redox-os.org

This isn't Linux, but Linux-like. Its a microkernel built from the rust programming language. Its still experimental, but I think it has great potential. It has a GUI desktop, but the compiler isn't quite fully working yet.

Has anyone used this before? What was your experience with it?

Note: If this is inappropriate since this isn't technically Linux, mods please take down.

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I should have framed my words better, I guess. Rust is a radically different language, and honestly, none of the feature it offers fixes the main issue, that is technical debt - I mean yes, there's incline C or FFI, but that's still going to be a radical migration.

What I'm trying to propose is an alternative project, independent from the ISO. Maybe it could be a C-to-Rust, or a C-to-Vale migration project. It could be any of the modern language, I don't really care. But that particular compiler/transpiler/migrationpiler/-piler should have the ability to do step-by-step migration.

I'd say no. Programming safely requires non-trivial transformation in code and a radical change in style, which afaik cannot be easily done automated.

Do you think that there's any chance to convert from this to this? It requires understanding of the algorithm and a thorough rewrite. Automated tools can only generate the former one because it must not change C's crooked semantics.

I was planning to learn C23 for quite some time. It's a pity that I've been planning to learn RISC-V with it, sigh. I guess I'm gonna move over to Rust or Zig, whichever makes sense. But I'd probably switch, when Vale becomes a legit language.

I think there's no need to stick with one particular language. It benefits to learn more languages and bring the "good parts" of their design into your code whatever you are writing it in.

Btw It happens that I've learned a bit of RISC-V, with Rust.