Aida, a trailblazer on one of Meta's first Rust teams, discusses the challenges of integrating Rust with existing C++ systems. She shares insights into the cxx library, which simplifies safe interop and async programming between the two languages. Aida explores her journey transitioning from C++ to Rust, tackling memory management and thread safety issues along the way. The conversation highlights the benefits of Rust, such as performance enhancements, while addressing real-world complexities developers face.
The transition from C++ to Rust at Meta has greatly improved codebase efficiency, highlighting Rust's performance and safety benefits.
Interfacing Rust with C++ poses challenges in memory management and async programming, necessitating tools like CXX for smoother interoperability.
Deep dives
Introduction to Rust at Meta
Rust has become a preferred programming language for new projects at Meta, shifting from traditional languages such as C++. This transition is particularly evident in projects like the social control server, which aimed to enhance the efficiency of Meta's codebase. Aida, who joined Meta in 2018 as a C++ engineer, played a crucial role in this shift by being one of the first to work on Rust-driven initiatives. The adoption of Rust is seen as a strategic decision that has since proved beneficial due to its performance and safety features.
Challenges of Interoperability Between Rust and C++
Interfacing Rust with existing C++ code presents unique challenges, especially in handling memory management and data ownership. Initially employing tools like bindgen for generating bindings, teams experienced issues with memory leaks and segmentation faults. The CXX library, developed to facilitate smoother interoperability, alleviated many issues by allowing developers to have more control over the memory allocation and ownership semantics between Rust and C++. Despite these improvements, developers still need to be cautious about object lifetimes and must explicitly manage resource cleanup.
Async C++ and Rust Communication
Asynchronous programming models in Rust and C++ differ significantly, which complicates cross-language integration. Rust's async model requires careful management of futures and execution contexts to avoid issues such as memory leaks and data races. The developers must implement communication paradigms that respect the distinct execution models of both languages, often involving channels for message passing. CXX provides mechanisms for handling async communication; however, it necessitates a thorough understanding of the asynchronous constructs in both languages to ensure robust and efficient interaction.
Future Directions in Rust Development
The Rust community recognizes the complexity associated with async programming, highlighting a preference for keeping operations synchronous whenever feasible. A more ergonomic approach to async Rust, particularly in terms of tracing and debugging, is considered crucial for improving developer experience. Suggestions include developing integrated logging solutions that facilitate easier tracking of async operations and their performance metrics. Scholars and practitioners are encouraged to advance the conversation around enhancing the usability of async features in Rust for better cross-language compatibility and performance.
Aida was part of one of the first Rust teams here at Meta. One of the biggest challenges was interacting with the large amount of existing C++. With the release of cxx, safe interop between C++ and even async Rust has become a lot easier.