Linux Matters The Very Hungry Caterpillar
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Jun 24, 2025 The hosts dive into the exciting transition of core Linux utilities to Rust, highlighting benefits like enhanced security. They discuss unique challenges faced with command-line utilities and share updates on a new travel website for nerdy excursions. From navigating web development issues to the quirks of CSS, they stress the importance of community collaboration. Don't miss their entertaining time-lapse chronicles of caterpillars transforming into butterflies, complete with humorous mishaps and tech tips!
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Martin's Rust Linux Core Utilities Experiment
- Martin replaced core Linux utilities with Rust re-implementations inspired by Ubuntu's move in 25.10 release.
- He tested compatibility and security benefits, finding almost seamless functionality across core utils, diff utils, and find utils.
Switching Between GNU and Rust Utilities
- Use Oxidizer to safely switch between GNU core utils and Rust-based uutils for compatibility testing.
- On NixOS, you can mix utilities line-by-line and fallback to GNU tools if Rust versions lack features.
Rust Utilities Use MIT License
- Rust reimplementations of core utilities use the MIT license, unlike GNU core utils' GPL license.
- License choice may motivate adoption beyond security and performance considerations.
