Would it be possible to extend Cargo so that it could be used to compile C and C++ code (using Clang under the hood)?
What would be great is if we could express a dependency on a C library and have Cargo download the source, compile it and link against it. It could even be used to make a C/C++ binary, with or without Rust dependencies. This could have a lot of benefits:
- Cargo could become the de-facto C/C++ package manager, especially if it made compiling C++ code across platforms as easy as Rust is today.
- Rust code that depends on existing libraries would be easier to deal with (although I have heard rumblings that this is already getting easier).
- C/C++ projects could use Rust crates more conveniently.
- Even more pie-in-the-sky, if the C/C++ code was compiled down to a .dylib, (or to LLVM byte code, if that's not what a .dylib is) then you could get whole-program optimizations, and maybe it would be easier to expose one type of code as if it was the other. (Like calling a .NET assembly written in VB from a C# assembly.)
A few specific points/questions:
- I am not asking for someone to do this for me, I am just asking if it would be feasible.
- What would be the biggest obstacles? (I mean specifically. Saying "It would be way way hard!" while true, is not the answer I am looking for.)
- What about Cargo and Rust enables simpler cross platform development than C/C++? would this be able to translate over, or are issues like the C++ ABI not being specified too big to overcome? (Seems like if we are working with source, or .dylibs, Cargo could just pick a C++ ABI and use that across all platforms.)
- Is somebody already working on something similar to this?