Julian Andres Klode, the main maintainer of the APT project, announced the decision to add Rust code to the APT package manager, as well as to include the Rust compiler, the Rust standard library, and the PGP toolkit from the Sequoia project, which is written in Rust, as mandatory dependencies. The changes are intended to be implemented no earlier than May 2026, to give Debian port developers six months to ensure proper functionality of the Rust toolkit or to discontinue the port.
Components of APT that require increased attention in terms of security, such as deb, ar, and tar format parsers, as well as code for checking digital signatures, are planned to be implemented in Rust. Previously, the APT 3.0 release already included the option to use the Rust-written utility sqv to check digital signatures instead of calling gpgv.
The announcement of the upcoming change emphasizes the importance of the project being able to move forward and rely on modern tools and technologies rather than stagnating by trying to run modern software on outdated systems.
Source: opennet.ru
