Rust in Linux Kernel: Christoph Hellwig Steps Down From One Of His Kernel Roles Following Rust Drama

Christoph Hellwig, a long-standing and highly respected Linux kernel developer, has stepped down from his role as maintainer of the DMA mapping subsystem.

This decision follows recent debates concerning the integration of Rust programming language bindings into the Linux kernel’s DMA mapping helpers, a move Hellwig had opposed. 

In the updated MAINTAINERS file for the upcoming Linux 6.14 release, Hellwig noted that Marek Szyprowski has “graciously offered to maintain the dma-mapping tree,” indicating Szyprowski will assume sole maintainership of this subsystem. 

Hellwig’s resignation from this role comes after Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, overruled his objections to Rust code integration within the DMA mapping area.

Torvalds emphasized that maintainers do not have the authority to dictate how their code is utilized elsewhere in the kernel, asserting that Hellwig’s attempt to block the Rust code was unwarranted.

Despite relinquishing his maintainership of the DMA mapping subsystem, Hellwig will continue his contributions to the Linux kernel in other capacities. He remains a co-maintainer for the NVMe driver, NVMe target driver, personality handling, and the…