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diff --git a/doc/HACKING/GettingStartedRust.md b/doc/HACKING/GettingStartedRust.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a5253b46a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/HACKING/GettingStartedRust.md @@ -0,0 +1,161 @@ + + Hacking on Rust in Tor +======================== + + Getting Started +----------------- + +Please read or review our documentation on Rust coding standards +(`.../doc/HACKING/CodingStandardsRust.md`) before doing anything. + +Please also read +[the Rust Code of Conduct](https://www.rust-lang.org/en-US/conduct.html). We aim +to follow the good example set by the Rust community and be excellent to one +another. Let's be careful with each other, so we can be memory-safe together! + +Next, please contact us before rewriting anything! Rust in Tor is still an +experiment. It is an experiment that we very much want to see succeed, so we're +going slowly and carefully. For the moment, it's also a completely +volunteer-driven effort: while many, if not most, of us are paid to work on Tor, +we are not yet funded to write Rust code for Tor. Please be patient with the +other people who are working on getting more Rust code into Tor, because they +are graciously donating their free time to contribute to this effort. + + Resources for learning Rust +----------------------------- + +**Beginning resources** + +The primary resource for learning Rust is +[The Book](https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/). If you'd like to start writing +Rust immediately, without waiting for anything to install, there is +[an interactive browser-based playground](https://play.rust-lang.org/). + +**Advanced resources** + +If you're interested in playing with various Rust compilers and viewing a very +nicely displayed output of the generated assembly, there is +[the Godbolt compiler explorer](https://rust.godbolt.org/) + +For learning how to write unsafe Rust, read +[The Rustonomicon](https://doc.rust-lang.org/nomicon/). + +For learning everything you ever wanted to know about Rust macros, there is +[The Little Book of Rust Macros](https://danielkeep.github.io/tlborm/book/index.html). + +For learning more about FFI and Rust, see Jake Goulding's +[Rust FFI Omnibus](http://jakegoulding.com/rust-ffi-omnibus/). + + Compiling Tor with Rust enabled +--------------------------------- + +You will need to run the `configure` script with the `--enable-rust` flag to +explicitly build with Rust. Additionally, you will need to specify where to +fetch Rust dependencies, as we allow for either fetching dependencies from Cargo +or specifying a local directory. + +**Fetch dependencies from Cargo** + + ./configure --enable-rust --enable-cargo-online-mode + +**Using a local dependency cache** + +**NOTE**: local dependency caches which were not *originally* created via + `--enable-cargo-online-mode` are broken. See https://bugs.torproject.org/22907 + +To specify a local directory: + + RUST_DEPENDENCIES='path_to_dependencies_directory' ./configure --enable-rust + +(Note that RUST_DEPENDENCIES must be the full path to the directory; it cannot +be relative.) + +You'll need the following Rust dependencies (as of this writing): + + libc==0.2.22 + +To get them, do: + + mkdir path_to_dependencies_directory + cd path_to_dependencies_directory + git clone https://github.com/rust-lang/libc + cd libc + git checkout 0.2.22 + cargo package + cd .. + ln -s libc/target/package/libc-0.2.22 libc-0.2.22 + + + Identifying which modules to rewrite +====================================== + +The places in the Tor codebase that are good candidates for porting to Rust are: + +1. loosely coupled to other Tor submodules, +2. have high test coverage, and +3. would benefit from being implemented in a memory safe language. + +Help in either identifying places such as this, or working to improve existing +areas of the C codebase by adding regression tests and simplifying dependencies, +would be really helpful. + +Furthermore, as submodules in C are implemented in Rust, this is a good +opportunity to refactor, add more tests, and split modules into smaller areas of +responsibility. + +A good first step is to build a module-level callgraph to understand how +interconnected your target module is. + + git clone https://git.torproject.org/user/nickm/calltool.git + cd tor + CFLAGS=0 ./configure + ../calltool/src/main.py module_callgraph + +The output will tell you each module name, along with a set of every module that +the module calls. Modules which call fewer other modules are better targets. + + Writing your Rust module +========================== + +Strive to change the C API as little as possible. + +We are currently targetting Rust nightly, *for now*. We expect this to change +moving forward, as we understand more about which nightly features we need. It +is on our TODO list to try to cultivate good standing with various distro +maintainers of `rustc` and `cargo`, in order to ensure that whatever version we +solidify on is readily available. + + Adding your Rust module to Tor's build system +----------------------------------------------- + +0. Your translation of the C module should live in its own crate(s) + in the `.../tor/src/rust/` directory. +1. Add your crate to `.../tor/src/rust/Cargo.toml`, in the + `[workspace.members]` section. +2. Append your crate's static library to the `rust_ldadd` definition + (underneath `if USE_RUST`) in `.../tor/Makefile.am`. + + How to test your Rust code +---------------------------- + +Everything should be tested full stop. Even non-public functionality. + +Be sure to edit `.../tor/src/test/test_rust.sh` to add the name of your crate to +the `crates` variable! This will ensure that `cargo test` is run on your crate. + +Configure Tor's build system to build with Rust enabled: + + ./configure --enable-fatal-warnings --enable-rust --enable-cargo-online-mode + +Tor's test should be run by doing: + + make check + +Tor's integration tests should also pass: + + make test-stem + + Submitting a patch +===================== + +Please follow the instructions in `.../doc/HACKING/GettingStarted.md`. |