So, do we have any prior art on deprecating and re...
# developmentc
curved-manchester-66006
09/25/2025, 8:22 PMSo, do we have any prior art on deprecating and removing and entire backend? I know in discussion we easily sidetrack on general backend ownership/maintenance/resources/etc but I think the rust backend is in a uniquely bad place: has no meaningful development since the initial commit 2 year ago, not used by any contributor, what it does it trivially(?) replaced by adhoc_tool, and there is an out-of-tree plugin that is a more plausible path forward.
h
happy-kitchen-89482
09/25/2025, 10:05 PMI don’t think we do, but I’m willing to bet if we removed it no one would notice…
happy-kitchen-89482
09/25/2025, 10:06 PMSo I think we can put it through a deprecation cycle with a message to the effect of “if you’re using this, let us know”
c
curved-manchester-66006
09/26/2025, 7:58 PMMy attempt at wordsmithing a deprecation of the rust backend: https://github.com/pantsbuild/pants/pull/22710
Better words welcome!
h
happy-kitchen-89482
09/26/2025, 8:11 PMThose words work for me!
c
curved-manchester-66006
09/26/2025, 8:15 PMHope @broad-processor-92400 agrees! https://huonw.github.io/blog/2025/09/deprecating-vs-removing/