Using Rust for kernel development

Just making C compile in a C++ compiler is not at all what I mean by upgrade. Proper C++11 code looks and operates very differently from C code. Human led, machine assisted incremental improvement is required to get from C to C++11 stuff. This is things like converting to use unique_ptr/smart_ptr, changing open coded containers into STL stuff, relying on the language to do cleanup, using move semantics, references, etc/etc. This is where the code becomes safer and more understandable.

My point is there is a proven path from C code to high quality C++11 code that is incremental and auditable (and a wack of human work). It starts with a lightweight 'transpile' to get C code into the C++ compiler in the first place, and no, it doesn't completely destroy the readability of the code base.

To my mind this should be the gold standard. This approach to add Rust parallel to C without any sane migration path is not. The fact that C to Rust, to even get started on the human-led incremental improvement, is basically impossible is not inherent. It comes from the deliberate design of Rust.

Despite Al's virtrol, I think there is merit in exploring what an ideal language upgrade for the kernel would be like - at least we can understand how far away this Rust proposal is.