HACKER Q&A
📣 cies

What languages should the Linux kernel accept next?


I's like to see Zig and Koka.


  👤 ekr Accepted Answer ✓
From my POV, Rust is already a bad decision for the same reason Linus was against C++. There's a continuous trade off against complexity and this is just such a huge addition to what was already a behemoth. I think Linus nowadays is a lot less strict in imposing his own rigor and engineering esthetics than he used to be.

It's probably been a long time since he was trying to steer the project to his standard of perfection, he gave up on that. Like he grew apart from it, life got in the way, and steering Linux is now more of a job than anything else.

What I'm saying is, 2004's Linus would have never allowed Rust into the kernel.


👤 cpach
From my POV Rust seems like a good decision. Adding too many languages might become messy. And there are probably many many person-hours until Linux+Rust is mature and stable.

👤 jjice
I think the jump from one to two was huge after development for over 20 years. I don't think there should be a jump or rush. Rust (while not necessary) will hopefully be able to eliminate memory errors and give better abstraction mechanisms in the codebase. If we have Rust and C, I don't see why we'd need another language any time soon. Those two should be able to carry the kernel by themselves. As far as I know, Rust is going to be for new drivers mostly, so they aren't going to be rewriting C code in Rust.

👤 mikewarot
Lisp

"Any sufficiently complicated C or Fortran program contains an ad hoc, informally-specified, bug-ridden, slow implementation of half of Common Lisp."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenspun%27s_tenth_rule


👤 eimrine
Please, accept Lisp and make Linux an OS for Lisp machines.

👤 iExploder
it should accept them all, otherwise its a clear discrimination

it would be nice to program drivers in php, it will open up the space to a lot more contributors!


👤 JoeyBananas
HolyC would actually be awesome