Article by Ayman Alheraki on January 11 2026 10:37 AM
C++ continues to be a core language in the development of operating systems, device drivers, and graphical subsystems. It is used extensively in legacy and modern systems like Windows, macOS, gaming engines, and Adobe multimedia products. Major companies such as Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Netflix, and NASA maintain large C++ codebases for high‑performance applications, drivers, graphics, search, analytics, and critical tooling
Titans of multimedia—Adobe, Blizzard, and other studios—rely on C++ for high frame‑rate game engines, image rendering, custom codecs, and real‑time performance systems
Career Karma. Its deterministic behavior and control over memory make it irreplaceable in performance-critical domains.
Many large-scale backend platforms still employ C++ for database engines, search infrastructure, and core services where latency and throughput are prioritized. Google and Meta use C++ in core backend systems alongside newer languages.
Rust in Linux Kernel: In 2022, Linux 6.1 officially introduced initial support for writing kernel modules and drivers in Rust. By version 6.8, experimental drivers—including network PHY and Apple Silicon GPU drivers—were accepted into mainline kernel code
According to Linux Journal (July 2025), these Rust modules have helped reduce memory safety vulnerabilities by eliminating many classes of bugs that historically caused two‑thirds of kernel CVEs
A 2025 update from MemorySafety.org confirms that Rust-based modules lead to more confident refactoring and increased developer participation, thanks to compile‑time safety enforcement
The Ekiben framework (2023) demonstrates real‑time Linux scheduler components implemented entirely in safe Rust. Its performance closely matches Linux's default scheduler (within ~1%) while supporting live upgrades and safer development workflows arxiv.org.
Asterinas (June 2025) is a Rust-based framekernel OS designed to be Linux ABI- compatible while minimizing its trusted computing base (TCB). It delivers Linux-like performance with only ~14 % of its codebase in safe Rust, showcasing feasibility for secure general-purpose OS kernels
Tock is a real-time, memory-safe microkernel OS written in Rust (latest releases in 2025). Used on Cortex-M and RISC‑V platforms, it enforces strict process isolation without dynamic heap allocation in the kernel, ideal for IoT and safety‑critical applications
Tauri is a cross-platform GUI framework using Rust on the backend and WebView front-end. Since its stable v2 release in January 2025, Tauri has enabled resource-efficient desktop and mobile apps—typical alternatives to Electron—with Rust handling core logic
Kornia-rs: A native Rust 3D computer-vision library rivaling OpenCV performance. In benchmarks, it achieves 3–5× speedups in image transformations and offers safer memory handling without wrappers over C++ code
AWS continues using Rust for Firecracker (a virtualization solution powering Lambda and Fargate) and Bottlerocket, its container-optimized operating system, improving isolation and efficiency
Microsoft has integrated Rust into Windows components and Azure IoT Edge modules, reporting reduced memory safety vulnerabilities and higher throughput across distributed systems
Google uses Rust in Android for critical modules (Bluetooth, DNS-over-HTTPS, virtualization) and supports it in Chromium and Fuchsia OS development wired.com.
Cloudflare’s Pingora proxy server, built in Rust, delivers higher performance and reduced CPU usage versus legacy C/C++ services
Dropbox rewrote its file sync engine in Rust and adopted it for new tools like Dropbox Capture for improved reliability and performance
| Domain / System Type | C++ Usage | Rust Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Systems & Kernels | Core components in Windows, macOS, driver stacks, and embedded OS | Linux kernel modules, experimental OSs such as Asterinas and Redox |
| Embedded & Real- Time Systems | Aerospace, avionics, gaming engines (e.g. drones, automotive) | Microcontroller OS like Tock, automotive safety-critical code reviews |
| Graphics & Game Engines | Adobe, Blizzard, custom rendering engines | Rust-based vision libraries (Kornia-rs), UI frameworks (Tauri) |
| Cloud Services & Virtualization | Backend services, search, infrastructure | AWS Firecracker, Bottlerocket, Cloudflare Pingora |
| Mobile & IoT Frameworks | C++ in firmware and drivers | Microsoft Azure IoTEdge, Android subsystems, embedded real-time services |
| Enterprise Backend Systems | Analytics, search, internal tooling | Dropbox, Google internal microservices, Discord backend |
References
Cloudflare, Dropbox, AWS, Disney, Tesla using Rust in infrastructure and tools (2022 business adoption data) Wikipedia
Linux kernel Rust support in 6.1 and 6.8 releases DebugPoint.com
Status and security impact of Rust modules in Linux kernel (Linux Journal 2025) Linux Journal
MemorySafety.org update on Rust adoption in kernel development (2025) www.memorysafety.org
Ekiben scheduler in Rust (2023) via academic preprint arxiv.org
Asterinas framekernel OS written in Rust (June 2025) arxiv.org
Tock microkernel RTOS in Rust (2025) Wikipedia
Tauri v2 desktop framework Rust backend (Jan 2025) Wikipedia
Kornia-rs native Rust computer vision library (May 2025) arxiv.org
Rust adoption case histories: Microsoft, Google, AWS, Cloudflare Wikipedia