The article is clear that this is about C# not C++. Is the romance for managed languages wearing off - I wonder what issues they are seeing.
Microsoft is big in C++, but they are also pushing C++ to be a lot safer. Modern C++ isn't as safe as rust, but it is still much safer than C or C++98.
As a C++ developer memory safety catches my attention. I keep rejecting code reviews - in 2024! - because of naked new. Since experience proves I can't get people to use the memory safety modern C++ offers I need to force the issue.
unfortunaty rust has other choices that don't play well with our existing C++ so it will be a long road.
Although headcount at Microsoft might currently be down – by two percent compared to the previous year – recruitment persists at the Windows giant.
The Substrate does the heavy lifting behind the scenes for Microsoft's cloud services, making a rewrite into Rust quite a statement of intent.
Microsoft said: "We are forming a new team focused on enabling the adoption of the Rust programming language as the foundation to modernizing global scale platform services, and beyond."
Considering the growing enthusiasm for memory-safe programming, something Rust delivers with far less effort than the likes of C++, Microsoft's move is unsurprising.
Memorably, a Microsoft engineer had to rapidly backpedal issue a clarification after proudly proclaiming that Office 365 was being ported to JavaScript.
In this instance, while Microsoft remains committed to C#, at least in public, its actions over the last few years and the job posting are indications that the company is keeping its options open.
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Support for Rust on Azure Functions would be awesome. Custom handlers have a lot of limitations, are poorly documented, and are difficult to use. Having Rust be treated a first-class language would make it so much easier to write performant Function Apps in a language that isn't C#.