Linux Drops Google's C Binder Driver as Rust Version Takes Over "Few Billion Devices"

On Saturday Linus Torvalds merged the char/misc changes into the Linux 7.4 kernel. The headline of this cycle is a removal rather than an addition: Google's C-written Binder driver has left the tree, with its role passing entirely to the modern Rust implementation.

The move had been flagged back in September when the patch was first floated. Over the history of Android, the C implementation of the Binder inter-process communication driver grew complex and, as the developers put it, "painful to maintainer" — hard to keep up. The Rust version, by contrast, has matured well.

The first prominent Rust driver in the kernel

The Rust Binder driver is the earliest high-profile example of a Rust kernel driver. By the time the C version was pulled, it had not only reached feature parity with the original but also outperformed it in some tests. From here on, the Rust implementation becomes Google's sole focus for this Android IPC mechanism.

In the char/misc pull request, Greg Kroah-Hartman noted that the C Binder code had been removed, that the Rust version is stable, and that it will be used going forward across "a few billion devices," praising the developers for a great job.

Beyond Binder, the char/misc batch also brings a raft of IIO driver updates and an assortment of small fixes across various drivers.

Source: Phoronix