Git is the world’s most widely used distributed version control system, underpinning projects ranging from the Linux kernel to enterprise software. Created by Linus Torvalds in 2005, it has remained primarily written in C, with a focus on speed, reliability, and portability across an enormous range of platforms.
Over the years, Git has seen gradual improvements, but its core philosophy of efficiency and ubiquity has largely kept its technical foundations stable, until now, that is.
What's Happening: In early September, a request for comments (RFC) proposed making Rust mandatory in Git, potentially by the time of a future Git 3.0 release. The idea is not to immediately rewrite large sections of the tool but to prepare infrastructure and workflows so developers can confidently build with Rust in place.
Patrick Steinhardt, who authored the RFC, put it like this:
As said, the entire goal is for us to have an easy playground that we can experiment on and develop the infrastructure incrementally without yet having to commit to anything.
I'm mostly splitting out the topic of introducing Rust from the larger series that introduce it into xdiff so that we can focus more on the actual process of introducing Rust into Git and less on the potential features that we want to build on top of it.
What to Expect: If Git moves forward with Rust as a requirement, maintainers can expect gains in safety and maintainability. Rust’s compiler is designed to prevent entire classes of memory bugs common in C, potentially offering stronger assurances of robustness.
Still, risks remain. Mandating Rust could increase build complexity and exclude platforms lacking reliable Rust toolchains, especially constrained or legacy environments.
For a project as universal as Git, maintaining wide accessibility is a critical consideration. The coming months of discussion and experimentation will shape whether Rust becomes an essential part of Git’s future or remains in the repo as an optional enhancement.
Via: Phoronix
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