Rust 1.90 has just been released, bringing some useful updates for developers. The biggest change is native support for publishing entire workspaces in Cargo, Rust’s package manager. This new feature makes managing multiple related crates much easier. It saves time and helps prevent mistakes when releasing large projects. The update was announced in September, and users can upgrade by running rustup update stable.

Streamlined Workspace Publishing in Cargo

The highlight of Rust 1.90 is the introduction of the command cargo publish –workspace. This allows developers to publish all crates within a workspace automatically, in the correct order. It takes dependencies into account, so each crate is published properly without manual sorting. Before this, publishing multiple crates often involved external tools or manual work, which could be error-prone and tedious.

With native support in Cargo, this process is now much smoother. The new command also runs a build check across all crates before publishing. This helps catch issues early, giving developers more confidence that their releases will go smoothly. Overall, this change improves workflows for teams working on big Rust projects, making releases more consistent and less stressful.

Other Key Changes and Platform Updates

Rust 1.90 also brings updates related to target platforms. Notably, the x86-64-apple-darwin target, used for macOS, has been moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2. This shift is mainly because Apple is planning to phase out support for x86-64 architecture, and GitHub is ending free macOS x86-64 runners for public repositories. Developers relying on this platform should keep an eye on this change.

While the move to Tier 2 might not cause immediate issues, it indicates that support could diminish over time. The Rust project will continue distributing the standard library and compiler for this target, but future compatibility might be a concern. Developers may want to consider switching to newer architectures or platforms eventually.

Another notable update is improved linker performance. On the x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu target, the default linker now uses LLD. This change can speed up the build process, making compilation faster. If users encounter issues with LLD, they can revert to the previous linker with a simple compiler flag. These enhancements aim to help developers get quicker build times and better overall performance.

Overall, Rust 1.90 is a significant release focused on making project management easier and improving build speeds. The new workspace publishing feature simplifies handling multiple crates, especially for larger projects. Combined with platform and linker improvements, it helps make Rust development more efficient and user-friendly. Whether working on small projects or large applications, these updates provide valuable tools for developers moving forward.

Inspired by

• https://www.infoworld.com/article/4060262/rust-1-90-brings-workspace-publishing-support-to-cargo.html

Sources

• rust-lang.org