alt Hacker NewsThose interested in this may find the following articles of interest:
Microsoft goals [edit: err, Microsoft hiring manager vision-casting goal ] to convert 1 billion lines of code to rust by 2030 via automated tooling enabling "1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code": https://thenewstack.io/microsofts-bold-goal-replace-1b-lines...
DARPA work towards automating converting C code to Rust using a mix of 6 different teams using different approaches: https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/translating-all-c-to... Feb 2026 Progress report: https://github.com/DARPA-TRACTOR-Program/Reports/blob/main/F...
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There have also been repeated statements from NSA & CISA that they recommend all development should be done in memory safe languages.
It's abundantly clear that there is a strong headwind towards memory safety, whether that's Rust or GC'd languages.
What with this llms not so good in rust mantra? Something changed? In my experience they are pretty good, but haters gonna hate.
It would be possible for me to give a more nuanced take, but the upshot is: none of that shit is going to work 100%.
One may get local maxima like an unsafe bonanza, or something that introduces a custom runtime memory management discipline at the cost of performance etc. Fully equivalent C++ to Rust in full generality is mainly wishful thinking. Of course that does not mean one should not try it.
See also my other comment.
There is no way they can re-write everything in Rust by 2030. No way. Even new projects are modern C++ at MSFT. Some teams are creating their Rust/C++ binding but that's a very small fraction.
Just in case slop is not strong enough.
These kinds of sanitized corporate, feel-good articles are anything but interesting.
A disgruntled former Azure employee posting what a clusterfuck their SW, including their Rust effort is? That’s both rare and interesting.
That is not "Microsoft goals", that is "one employee's LinkedIn comment of his personal goal".