December 25, 2025
Rust vs C cage match
Memory Safety
Big Tech backs Rust makeover; fans cheer, skeptics cry bias
TLDR: Prossimo aims to swap risky core internet tools for safer versions, with major tech funders backing Rust-heavy projects. The comments erupted over whether Go is truly “safe,” whether calling C and C++ unsafe is fair, and if “mostly safe” is good enough—spoiler: the practical camp says yes.
Prossimo is on a crusade to rebuild the Internet’s plumbing with memory-safe tools—think safer locks for websites (TLS), a sturdier phone book for the web (DNS), and even a tidier way computers tell time (NTP). Their lineup reads like a full renovation: Rustls to replace OpenSSL, Hickory DNS adding encryption, sudo-rs headed to Ubuntu, and more, all bankrolled by heavy hitters like Google, AWS, and Cloudflare. Cue the comment section: chaos.
The loudest fight? Whether Go belongs in the “safe” club. One user blasted the site for “incorrectly” calling Go memory safe, hinting sponsors may be swaying labels. Another went full contrarian, declaring the “C and C++ are unsafe” line “False”, arguing it’s more nuanced. Meanwhile, a pragmatist clapped back: focusing on “98% safe code” beats the status quo of “0%,” and no software is perfectly secure anyway. Jokes flew too—“Now do type safety,” one quipped, and another mocked the trendy “codebase search for unsafe” as if counting keywords equals safety. A flagged flame post popped and vanished, because of course it did. Verdict: the project is big, the stakes are bigger, and the comment wars are the real show.
Key Points
- •Prossimo lists multiple initiatives to deliver memory-safe implementations for critical Internet infrastructure components.
- •Rustls aims to be ready to replace OpenSSL for TLS; Hickory DNS targets a memory-safe, high-performance recursive resolver.
- •Additional projects include sudo-rs, ntpd-rs, rav1d (AV1), a memory-safe zlib, Linux kernel driver support, River reverse proxy, Apache httpd mod_tls, and curl.
- •Funders include Google, AWS, Fly.io, Futurewei, Cisco, Acton Family Giving, Sovereign Tech Agency, Alpha-Omega, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Chainguard, Cloudflare, Shopify, and ICANN.
- •Blog updates highlight Rustls joining the Rust Foundation’s Innovation Lab, Hickory DNS adding RFC 9539 opportunistic encryption, sudo-rs headed to Ubuntu, and ongoing focus on C/C++ compatibility.