marc said on Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:07:06 +0200

>Hello Steve
>
>> We could debate the benefits and costs of adherence to this degree of
>> diligence, but the fact is that a lot of bad code gets written,
>> damaging society and the programming profession. At some time in the
>> future you, a diligent programmer, might find yourself hamstrung by
>> actual laws requiring you to jump through all sorts of hoops (or pay
>> lots of bribes) to be allowed to ply your trade.
>
>I think you have made this argument before, that we require safe
>languages (or "safer languages") lest the state imposes a
>license to program. I am not sure...
>
>I think the opposite can be argued too: That unsafe languages
>are useful, so that the powerful can't (de facto, technically) prevent
>you from rooting your device to to run your own code, however
>rubbish, and even if that is against the law, or the eula.

Whoa, whoa, whoooooaaaaa, I didn't mean to imply that C should be
banned. Or assembler. Or hex/binary machine code. Over my dead body.
All I said is that Rust is useful in situations in which you want the
compiler to help you be careful.

The reason I brought up the whole government thing was because of folks
claiming we don't need Rust because the programmer should be careful
and know all the ways a bad guy can exploit their code. In other words,
turn it into a "blame the programmer" type deal. That's nice, and
that's Utopian, but in real life some programmers are not careful, and
Rust is a nice way to put railings on their stairs so they don't fall
off.


>But in the mean time, preserving access to one's devices should
>remain a priority.

Of course I'll ALWAYS believe the preceding. That's why I'm on the DNG
mailing list.

>And the occasional buffer overflow can
>help in that regard.

Well, if it's deliberate and it's done in a white hat manner, sure.

>Especially as corporations often
>value quality less than enthusiasts, and so the scale
>is tipped in favour of the latter.

Enshittification. Give away virus targets, sell the secure code. And
sell the TRULY secure code at concierge prices to concierge members.

SteveT

Steve Litt

http://444domains.com