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by qwerty456127 1695 days ago
Even "rewriting Linux in Rust" is far from a waste if you make it run and if your code quality is good enough for others to join.

If only you could write an entirely new (meant to be better, for some cases at least) kernel compatible with Linux hardware drivers - this would be not waste at all but in fact fantastic.
1 comments
nuta 1695 days ago
The most challenging point is, as others said, the lack of the compatibility with Linux Driver API. I believe it would be really hard to implement and keep following changes in Linux.

An idea in my mind is to use Kerla for virtualized environments like KVM where only limited device drivers are needed (virtio for example).

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phkahler 1694 days ago
>> The most challenging point is, as others said, the lack of the compatibility with Linux Driver API.

IMHO getting a minimal set that works is good enough to get people on board. This is still nontrivial. But for example, getting FUSE working would be useful. Even if the driver itself was not ABI compatible, it would bring functionality and someone might then aim for ABI compatibility afterward which would open even more doors.

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yjftsjthsd-h 1694 days ago
> The most challenging point is, as others said, the lack of the compatibility with Linux Driver API. I believe it would be really hard to implement and keep following changes in Linux.

Especially since, as I understand it, even Linux isn't compatible with the Linux driver API across versions; they can and will change internals at will and just update in-tree drivers to match. Hence some of the difficulty doing things like getting a newer kernel on assorted embedded devices (ex. 99% of phones) because you have to port the vendor's drivers to the new version and both sides changed stuff.

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