Tiny Core Linux
Tiny Core Base => TCB Q&A Forum => Topic started by: cyberdaddy on June 09, 2025, 09:25:54 AM
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Seems rust is being pushed upon the firmware world much like how javascript has been for software.
Imo, its a very bad decision, Linux should remain pure C for longevity.
I wanted to gain the perspective from members of this community about this topic.
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From what I have read, 'rust' is a safer programming language.
If they reprogram everything in rust, I wouldn't object, but I do dislike having lots of different languages to contend with....if only everything was programmed in assembler....
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What they dont tell you about "Rust" is the fact that youll have to maintain C, C++, and "Rust" even if it was a decent language.
Haha everything programmed in "assembler", thats quite a problem for the millennium....
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https://stackoverflow.com/questions/72694268/can-you-make-an-os-only-using-assembly-language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BareMetal
https://github.com/ReturnInfinity/BareMetal-OS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KolibriOS
https://www.kolibrios.org/en/index.htm
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For Tiny Core I think the most relevent question is whether Rust will make the kernel (and its drivers) grow bigger or get smaller. Not the code size, which the developers worry most about, but the size of the compiled binaries. Some existing Rust projects are discouraging in that regard (eg. librsvg), but maybe they're just written poorly?
Taking librsvg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Librsvg) as an example, with Tiny Core x86_64 extensions:
Last pre-Rust librsvg extension (http://tinycorelinux.net/10.x/x86_64/tcz/librsvg.tcz.info) = 112KB
First Rust librsvg extension (http://tinycorelinux.net/11.x/x86_64/tcz/librsvg.tcz.info) = 3.8MB
Current librsvg extension (http://tinycorelinux.net/16.x/x86_64/tcz/librsvg.tcz.info) = 6.7MB
Firefox uses Rust too, and it's really huge, but it has to keep adding support for new web standards too so it's hard to compare fairly with older versions.
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Though I may not be a long time contributor of this project, I genuinely would recommend that it would be best to keep "Rust" at a distance and allow people to support it.
The incremental benefits "Rust" offers is not worth the whole overhaul of trying to rewrite programs written in "C" and "C++" which would be better if they were contained and clamped respectively.
There's a lot of code waste that will occur from "Rust" and itll be a grand waste of time much like how seemingly the web developers took a wrong (least productive) route by making "JavaScript" the language of the "World Wide Web".
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https://stackoverflow.com/questions/72694268/can-you-make-an-os-only-using-assembly-language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BareMetal
https://github.com/ReturnInfinity/BareMetal-OS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KolibriOS
https://www.kolibrios.org/en/index.htm
The "BareMetal OS" project looks like a decent effort at making an exokernel, will be a challenge to do it well. Nonetheless, I shall visit this project more in depth when I can.
The "Kolibrios" project should rename itself to "Pane", perhaps it could replace "Windows" lol because it does look a lot like XP.
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IF all changes / bloat (rust) are made mostly in the name of "security" then we are on a wrong path, as we complacently accept "insecurity"/ back-doors default build in hardware (CPU / GPU) and firmware (closed sources) in the name of bullshit intellectual "property".