Think twice before translating all C to Rust (opens in new tab)

(agarriga.substack.com)

9 pointsrhaps0dy3mo ago4 comments

4 comments

"Another downside is that Fil-C is not compatible with libraries in binary form, it requires a re-compile."

My gut tells me this is only going to work for a relatively small part of the existing C code in production. Recompiling old C with new compiler is fraught with risks.

rhaps0dyOP3mo ago

Possible! But fixing this seems easier than re-writing in Rust with reasonable expectation that the software behaves the same?

cratermoon3mo ago

It depends. There's a lot of code out there old enough that reproducing is effectively lost knowledge. But also, there is some evidence that bugs are more common in new code, so rewriting that is a good idea.

nacozarina3mo ago

Rust is clearly not stable in either toolchain or the lang, and any substantial component you make today will be an anachronism to the common Rust man 18 mos from now.

Migrating critical c code to an unstable toolchain is utter insanity, and that madness will come back to haunt everyone.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

4 comments

cratermoon3mo ago

"Another downside is that Fil-C is not compatible with libraries in binary form, it requires a re-compile."

My gut tells me this is only going to work for a relatively small part of the existing C code in production. Recompiling old C with new compiler is fraught with risks.

rhaps0dyOP3mo ago

Possible! But fixing this seems easier than re-writing in Rust with reasonable expectation that the software behaves the same?

cratermoon3mo ago

nacozarina3mo ago

Rust is clearly not stable in either toolchain or the lang, and any substantial component you make today will be an anachronism to the common Rust man 18 mos from now.

Migrating critical c code to an unstable toolchain is utter insanity, and that madness will come back to haunt everyone.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse