Rust CUDA reboot announcement (#63)

Author: LegNeato

blog/2025-01-27-rust-cuda-reboot.md

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+---
+title: "Rebooting the Rust CUDA project"
+authors: [LegNeato]
+tags: ["announcement", "cuda"]
+---
+
+We're excited to announce the reboot of the [Rust CUDA project](https://github.com/rust-gpu/rust-cuda). Rust CUDA enables you to write and run [CUDA](https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-toolkit) kernels in Rust, executing directly on NVIDIA GPUs using [NVVM IR](https://docs.nvidia.com/cuda/nvvm-ir-spec/index.html).
+
+Our immediate focus is on modernizing the project and integrating with other GPU-related efforts in the Rust ecosystem.
+
+**To follow along or get involved, check out the [`rust-cuda` repo on GitHub](https://github.com/rust-gpu/rust-cuda).**
+
+<!-- truncate -->
+
+## Call for contributors
+
+We need your help to shape the future of CUDA programming in Rust. Whether you're a
+maintainer, contributor, or user, there's an opportunity to [get
+involved](https://github.com/rust-gpu/rust-cuda). We're especially
+interested in adding maintainers to make the project sustainable.
+
+Be aware that the process may be a bit bumpy as we work to get the project in order.
+
+## Relation to other GPU projects in the Rust ecosystem
+
+We see significant opportunities for collaboration and unification with related
+projects.
+
+- **[Rust GPU](https://rust-gpu.github.io/)**: This project is similar to Rust CUDA but
+  targets [SPIR-V](https://www.khronos.org/spir/) for [Vulkan](https://www.vulkan.org/)
+  GPUs.
+
+  Our long-term vision for the two projects includes merging developer-facing APIs to
+  provide a unified experience for GPU programming in Rust. Developers should not need
+  to worry about underlying platforms (Vulkan vs. CUDA) or low-level IR (SPIR-V vs.
+  NVVM) unless doing specialized work. This would make GPU programming in Rust feel as
+  seamless as its abstractions for CPU architectures or operating systems.
+
+  Christian Legnitto ([LegNeato](https://github.com/LegNeato)) is one of the maintainers
+  for both projects.
+
+- **[`rustc` PTX
+  backend](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rustc/platform-support/nvptx64-nvidia-cuda.html)**:
+  The Rust compiler's experimental `nvptx` backend generates CUDA's low-level
+  [PTX](https://docs.nvidia.com/cuda/parallel-thread-execution/) IR. We plan to
+  collaborate with this effort to determine how it can complement or integrate with
+  `rust-cuda`'s NVVM IR approach.
+
+- **[cudarc](https://github.com/coreylowman/cudarc)**: This crate provides a host-side
+  abstraction for CUDA programming in Rust. We aim to explore how `rust-cuda` can
+  interoperate with `cudarc` or consolidate efforts.
+
+For a broader look at Rust and GPUs, check out the [ecosystem overview
+page](https://rust-gpu.github.io/ecosystem/).
+
+## Short-Term Roadmap
+
+Our immediate focus is on stabilizing and modernizing the Rust CUDA project:
+
+- **Merging outstanding PRs**: Address the backlog of contributions.
+- **Closing outdated issues**: Clean up the issue tracker to focus on actionable problems.
+- **Updating dependencies**: Support the latest Rust toolchain and CUDA versions.
+- **New website**: Launch a site with updated documentation, examples, and resources to make it easier for users to get started.
+
+## Medium-term roadmap
+
+Once the Rust CUDA project is stabilized, we will explore new opportunities to advance
+its functionality and integrate with the broader ecosystem:
+
+- **Rust-C++ interop**: Investigate Rust's recent C++ interoperability initiatives to
+  see if they can be used to simplify host and library integration for CUDA.
+- **Rust community collaboration**: Work with other Rust CUDA projects to consolidate
+  and unify host-side tools and workflows where appropriate.
+- **PTX backend collaboration**: Coordinate with the [rustc PTX
+  backend](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rustc/platform-support/nvptx64-nvidia-cuda.html)
+  team to explore shared infrastructure and evaluate transitioning Rust CUDA from NVVM
+  IR to raw PTX.
+- **`rust-gpu` collaboration**: Leverage `rust-gpu`'s tooling and compiler
+  infrastructure to reduce duplication.
+
+## Long-Term Roadmap
+
+Our long-term vision is to make GPU programming in Rust safe, ergonomic, fast, and fully
+integrated into the language:
+
+- **Rust compiler integration**: Rust CUDA is currently an out-of-tree compiler backend.
+  We aim to bring it in-tree and make it officially supported.
+- **Unified GPU API**: Merge developer-facing APIs of `rust-cuda` and `rust-gpu`. This
+  would abstract away platform and IR differences for most developers, leaving
+  platform-specific concerns only for low-level or specialized use cases.
+- **Language evolution**: Contribute to the Rust language's evolution to better support
+  GPU programming, ensuring it remains safe, performant, and developer-friendly.
+
+## Acknowledgments
+
+We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to [Riccardo
+D'Ambrosio](https://github.com/RDambrosio016) for starting the Rust CUDA project and
+putting in so much work to bring it to life. His efforts have laid the foundation for
+everything we are building on today. **Thank you, Riccardo!**

blog/authors.yml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 LegNeato:
   name: Christian Legnitto
-  title: Rust GPU maintainer
+  title: Rust GPU and Rust CUDA maintainer
   url: https://github.com/LegNeato
   image_url:
     ## Image URL managed by the fetchAuthorImages plugin. Changes may be overwritten.

blog/tags.yml

@@ -27,3 +27,8 @@ performance:
   label: performance
   permalink: /performance
   description: Performance measuring and tuning
+
+cuda:
+  label: cuda
+  permalink: /cuda
+  description: Related to CUDA