Canonical is replacing GNU coreutils with the one developed by uutils, and the next Ubuntu release in October will match with the debut of sudo-rs: a Rust implementation of the original sudo tool. It’s an epoch-making change, even if, on a technical level, we are talking about negligible details.
Ubuntu, whether you like it or not, is the most successful Linux distribution of the last twenty years. This was made possible mainly thanks to Debian, but we cannot underestimate the role played by Canonical. Many of us were convinced that it could compete with Windows on the desktop, but that never happened and never will.
I was one of those people, and now I work with macOS. Many things have changed over the years, but I’ve never changed my mind about Ubuntu and Canonical: I fully share Mark Shuttleworth’s vision, and I agree with this choice, not just because I’m a huge Rust fan.
I have nothing against the GNU project: on the contrary, I think GNU Hurd is a fantastic project and I applauded the recent release of Debian in August. I’m equally convinced of the importance of GNU in the Linux ecosystem. But I believe that efficiency should be preferred to politics.
Rust is also gaining importance on Windows. That’s why I’m learning it: I think it’s the future, even though it has been around for a while. Microsoft is pushing to use it for drivers, and recent Linux kernel pushes go in the same direction. Well, I don’t plan to become a maintainer, but that’s a thing.
Rust-y solutions are growing fast, and I do want to understand how they work. Then, I’m studying it. Why Canonical choice is so important? Because replacing GNU coreutils opens a new era where Linux could be no longer GNU/Linux. You got the point.
Without GNU coreutils, the future of the operating system could be different. It doesn’t mean that Linux will exclude any software maintained by GNU, but, like the name itself suggests, it could be relatively easy replaced as a “core” element. Will it be dangerous for the whole ecosystem?
I don’t think so, but it’s just an opinion. I will try the next Ubuntu release to stay up to date with the news, even though I don’t own a PC at the moment. I will put it in a VirtualBox machine on my Apple Mini: I know it’s not the same as having it on a physical device, but is what I can afford right now.
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