Comment by axelriet
2 days ago
It came from the top of Azure and for Azure only. Specifically the mandate was for all new code that cannot use a GC i.e. no more new C or C++ specifically.
I think the CTO was very public about that at RustCon and other places where he spoke.
The examples he gave were contrived, though, mostly tiny bits of old GDI code rewritten in Rust as success stories to justify his mandate. Not convincing at all.
Azure node software can be written in Rust, C, or C++ it really does not matter.
What matters is who writes it as it should be seen as “OS-level” code requiring the same focus as actual OS code given the criticality, therefore should probably be made by the Core OS folks themselves.
I have followed it from the outside, including talks at Rust Nation.
However the reality you described on the ground is quite different from e.g. Rust Nation UK 2025 talks, or those being done by Victor Ciura.
It seems more in line with the rejections that took place against previous efforts regarding Singularity, Midori, Phoenix compiler toolchain, Longhorn,.... only to be redone with WinRT and COM, in C++ naturally.
May I ask, what kind of training does the new joins of the kernel team (or any team that effectively writes kernel level code) get? Especially if they haven't written kernel code professionally -- or do they ONLY hire people who has written non-trivial amount of kernel code?
There is no formal training (like bootcamp or classes) but the larger org has extensive documentation (osgwiki) and you are expected to learn and ramp-up by yourself.
I don’t think there is any kernel code writing experience requirement but the hiring bar is sky-high, you have to demonstrate that you are a programmer.