Is the C++ Era Under Threat? Rust 1.91 Makes Systems Development on Windows ARM Easier and Safer
The latest release allows the language to be used on all modern architectures.
The latest release allows the language to be used on all modern architectures.
Rust has received a major update—version 1.91 has officially brought support for Windows on 64-bit ARM systems to the same level as Linux and macOS. Now, builds for the aarch64-pc-windows-msvc architecture have achieved Tier 1 support, meaning guaranteed passing of all tests and the availability of pre-compiled binaries. For users of ARM computers running Windows, this makes Rust a full-fledged tool for industrial development without the need to build everything manually.
Alongside this, the aarch64-pc-windows-gnullvm and x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm targets have achieved Tier 2 status, bringing them closer to full support—the team plans to add missing components in the future, including installers and LLVM tools.
In addition to expanding platform compatibility, the update has strengthened the code analysis system. Rust 1.91 now automatically warns about the potential creation of dangling pointers if a function returns raw references to local variables. This mechanism works on the principle of a warning, preventing potential errors that could lead to accessing freed memory. The developers note that this does not make the code inherently unsafe but helps to identify dangerous constructs in a timely manner.
The release also includes a large set of stabilized interfaces and functions. Among them are new methods for atomic pointers, integer operations, path and filesystem handling, string manipulation, and IP address processing. Capabilities for using certain APIs in const contexts have been expanded, increasing the language's flexibility for writing low-level code.
The project team emphasizes that the update is not limited to technical improvements. Work continues on unifying tools and infrastructure for different operating systems to ensure that support for Windows on ARM remains on par with traditional platforms. Users can install the new version via rustup or switch to the beta channel to test future changes.
Rust 1.91 symbolizes an important stage in the language's development, strengthening its position as one of the most robust and reliable tools for systems programming, now with full support for all modern architectures.
