- Linus Torvalds told that Rust programming language may be merged into the forthcoming Linux kernel 6.1 release.
- The process of adding Rust into the Linux kernel has already been started and a working group and a preliminary patch have been created.
- Rust foundation has made an agreement with the Alpha-Omega security project and designated a team to assess and improve the security of the language.
At Open Source Summit Europe Conference, Linus Torvalds told participants about his intention to add Rust programming language support in the forthcoming 6.1 version of the Linux kernel. His intention of bringing Rust into the kernel was first revealed at Open Source Summit event in June.
A working group for Rust already started
Rust programming language was designed to ensure high performance similar to that offered by C and C++. It delivers high performance while processing large amounts of data. According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022, Rust is the most loved programming language among developers.
One of the reasons to merge Rust into Linux might be to get developers to work on kernel more. Additionally, in order to make it more secure, Rust Foundation has reached an agreement with the Alpha-Omega security project to set up a team dedicated to assessing and improving the security of the language.
The process of adding Rust into the kernel has already begun. As of today, a working group, and a preliminary patch have already been submitted on Github. Two preliminary drivers are implemented in the new programming language; a driver for NVMe drives, and an in-kernel server for the 9P network protocol, which comes from the Plan 9 operating system.
During the conference, Linus Torvalds and Dirk Hohndel said the next version of the kernel will be 6.0 and there will not be major changes. But kernel 6.1 may be highlighted with a new feature which is Rust.