Mold 3.0 Linker Released After C++-to-Rust Rewrite

The high-speed Mold linker, positioned as an alternative to GNU Gold/LD and LLVM LLD, has been released as version 3.0. It is the first release following the project's complete rewrite from C++ to Rust.

As already noted in the 2.42.1 release notes, that version was the last to be based on C++. Mold 3.0 is billed as a drop-in replacement for 2.42.1, now running on Rust.

A push for compatibility

The main goal of the 3.x branch is to close the remaining compatibility gaps with GNU ld, particularly in linker script support. According to the developers, this should pave the way for Mold to be adopted as the default linker in Linux distributions — an ambition the project has long voiced.

What Rust brings

The move to Rust is said to make Mold safer when handling corrupted input files. The switch also changed its dependencies: Mold 3.0 requires Rust 1.95 or later, drops its reliance on Intel oneTBB, and builds with Cargo instead of CMake.

Many bugs were reportedly fixed during the rewrite. The full list of changes is available in the official release announcement.

Source: Phoronix