Rust compiler support works differently

Posted Dec 15, 2025 12:51 UTC (Mon) by pm215 (subscriber, #98099)
In reply to: Rust compiler support works differently by taladar
Parent article: The state of the kernel Rust experiment

I think stable distros do that with other software not only because they don't want to take intentional new backwards incompatible changes, but also because they don't want to take the unintentional new bugs that inevitably sneak in with new versions of software. Even the best run project with the most careful backwards compatibility promises is still subject to adding new bugs when they write new code. This doesn't apply only to Rust, either -- nobody expects the "ls" interface to change incompatibly, but stable distros still stick with the version they shipped at release.

The promise of a stable distro release is that it will make minimal cautious changes, to minimise the risk of disrupting stuff you are using and relying on. If you'd prefer a faster updating "rolling" distro, those are also available, but I think there are good reasons why those are not the only kind.

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Rust compiler support works differently

Posted Dec 16, 2025 9:17 UTC (Tue) by taladar (subscriber, #68407) [Link] (2 responses)

The problem is that this just doesn't work in practice. The LTS distros like RHEL are full of new bugs introduced by people who have to handle backports for dozens or sometimes hundreds of packages at the same time and who are just not very familiar with the way the code base works. Backports are new versions, just badly tested new versions.

Rust compiler support works differently

Posted Dec 16, 2025 16:36 UTC (Tue) by pm215 (subscriber, #98099) [Link] (1 responses)

I guess my experience differs -- I've been using Debian and Ubuntu stable distros for a couple of decades and can't remember running into a bug that was introduced by a stable/security bugfix update.

Rust compiler support works differently

Posted Dec 19, 2025 0:15 UTC (Fri) by rgmoore (✭ supporter ✭, #75) [Link]

Some of this may depend on how long the distro promises to stay stable. The longer the stability promise, the more divergence there can be between the "stable" and current versions of the software and the harder backports get. That's going to put a practical limit on the length of any stability guarantee, presumably related to how well key upstream projects support older versions. A distribution that tries to handle its own kernel backports beyond what's supported by official LTS versions is setting itself up for problems.