Torvalds Weighs in On 'Nasty' Rust vs C For Linux Debate

The Rust vs C battle raging in Linux circles has left even Linus Torvalds scratching his head. "I'm not sure why Rust has been such a contentious area," the Linux creator mused at this week's Open Source Summit, likening the fervor to ancient text editor wars. "It reminds me of when I was young and people were arguing about vi versus Emacs."

The spat over integrating Rust into Linux has been brewing since 2022, with critics slamming it as an "insult" to decades of kernel work. One maintainer recently quit, fed up with the "nontechnical nonsense." Torvalds struck a surprisingly diplomatic tone. He praised how Rust has "livened up discussions" while admitting some arguments get "nasty." "C is, in the end, a very simple language," Torvalds said, explaining its appeal and pitfalls. "Because it's simple it's also very easy to make mistakes. And Rust is not." Torvalds remains upbeat about Rust's future in Linux, nonetheless. "Even if it were to become a failure -- and I don't think it will -- that's how you learn," he said.