This year in embedded Rust

Author: japaric

content/2018-11-14-this-year-in-embedded-rust.md

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+title = "This year in embedded Rust"
+date = 2018-11-14
+draft = false
+in_search_index = true
+template = "page.html"
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+
+This year the [embedded WG] set out to build the solid foundation that the
+embedded Rust ecosystem requires to thrive. As we approach the date of the 2018
+edition release we reflect on our progress and share our achievements with you
+in this post.
+
+[embedded WG]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/wg
+
+## Embedded Rust on stable
+
+Stability -- AKA "my crate should not break when moving to a newer toolchain" --
+was the single most requested feature by the embedded community during the 2018
+roadmap planning phase.
+
+Embedded development has been tied to the nightly
+channel since its very beginning, and the people that have been doing embedded
+development for a while have endured many breaking changes. Thankfully, those
+days are over: Rust 1.30 marks the first stable release where you can build
+fully working embedded programs without relying on unstable features.
+
+Furthermore, we now have some [unit][] [tests] that check embedded code in the
+compiler test suite so unintentional breakage will be caught before it makes its
+way into the nightly channel.
+
+[unit]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/53996
+[tests]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/53190
+
+## A smooth starting point
+
+"How do I get started with embedded Rust?" has been a common question on IRC for
+a long time. It has not been an easy question to answer, though: maintaining
+documentation that relies on unstable features for a long period of time has
+been an uphill battle so newcomers have often run into outdated docs.
+
+But now that stable embedded Rust is here we have put together an authoritative
+resource for getting started with embedded Rust: [the embedded Rust book]. We
+have put a lot of effort in making the first experience as frictionless as
+possible with the help of [templates] and [tooling].
+
+[the embedded Rust book]: https://docs.rust-embedded.org/book
+[templates]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/cortex-m-quickstart
+[tooling]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/cargo-binutils
+
+The embedded Rust book is not just a getting started guide; it's also meant
+to be the document that teaches you how to effectively use the language to write
+correct embedded software. We are currently amassing all our hard earned
+experience into patterns and tips that we are adding to this book.
+
+## Resources for everyone
+
+The embedded Rust book is aimed at people that have some experience with
+embedded development, but we recognize that Rust has great potential for
+becoming people's first choice for getting their feet wet with embedded
+development so we have updated and will continue to work on resources, like [the
+Discovery book], that are aimed at that demographic.
+
+[the Discovery book]: https://docs.rust-embedded.org/discovery
+
+We also recognize that the target audience for embedded Rust has different
+levels of expertise with embedded systems and a varied set of interests
+so we are also building advances resources like [the embedonomicon]
+and collecting more targeted resources, like crates, in the
+[awesome-embedded-rust] list. You can find these and other of our resources in
+our [docs webpage][docs].
+
+[the embedonomicon]: https://docs.rust-embedded.org/embedonomicon
+[awesome-embedded-rust]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/awesome-embedded-rust
+[docs]: https://docs.rust-embedded.org
+
+## An organized community effort
+
+All this has been accomplished with the hard work of many volunteers, both [WG
+members] and other community members. The WG members, in particular, are
+committed to maintaining the [core crates] and [documentation] that the
+ecosystem relies on. All these resources have been taken under the umbrella of
+the [rust-embedded] organization.
+
+[WG members]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/wg#organization
+[rust-embedded]: https://github.com/rust-embedded
+[core crates]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/wg#projects-1
+[documentation]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/wg#projects-8
+
+## WG teams
+
+The embedded space is huge: there are several architectures used in
+this space, many application areas, and embedded developers work with different
+sets of constraints: real-time constraints, memory constraints, energy / power
+constraints, etc.
+
+For this reason we have been creating and growing specialized teams within the
+WG by adding members with different areas of expertise. This ensures that we
+have different perspectives when making API design decisions in core crates and
+when communicating the needs of the embedded community to the other Rust teams.
+Having specialized teams also means that the crates developed by the org can be
+assigned to the people with the right technical background.
+
+## On the upcoming 2018 edition
+
+In this last sprint towards the 2018 edition we are focusing our efforts in
+our [documentation][docs]!
+
+You can help us by proofreading our docs, reporting errors, giving feedback on
+the existing content, requesting new topics and writing about topics that have
+not yet been covered. Every little bit of help is greatly appreciated!
+
+One important note: our documentation makes use of the 2018 edition which
+requires you to use the beta channel until 1.31 is released in early December.
+We suggest that you use the beta channel until then to get the best experience.
+
+## Beyond 2018
+
+Our work doesn't stop the day Rust 1.31 comes out; the 2018 edition is just the
+starting line of embedded Rust. As we continue to learn how to effectively use
+Rust for embedded development we'll continue to refine and expand our
+documentation as well as the core crates we maintain and develop.
+
+Also, at this point in time ARM Cortex-M is our most mature target architecture
+and the majority of crates on crates.io target this architecture, but we have
+laid the groundwork for supporting other targets like bare metal ARM Cortex-A,
+ARM Cortex-R, MSP430 and RISCV. We'll continue to work on getting these
+targets on parity with the ARM Cortex-M target during the next year.
+
+Here's to a 2019 with *more* embedded Rust success stories (yes, "more"; wait
+for the upcoming revamped rust-lang website ;-). Happy embedded hacking!