According to Phoronix, the Wild linker written in Rust has reached version 0.7 with substantial performance improvements, including up to 30% faster linking times for large C++ projects and better memory usage. Meanwhile, Tellusim has released its Core SDK on GitHub as an open source C++ framework focused on graphics and compute workloads across multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS. The Wild 0.7 release specifically brings improved parallelization, better handling of debug information, and enhanced compatibility with various build systems. Both announcements represent significant milestones for performance-critical development tools, with Wild continuing its mission to become the fastest system linker available.
Sponsored content — provided for informational and promotional purposes.
The Performance Question
Here’s the thing with performance claims – they always sound amazing in press releases, but real-world usage tells a different story. Wild claims up to 30% faster linking, but that’s probably under ideal conditions with specific workloads. I’ve seen enough “revolutionary” performance tools come and go to be skeptical. Remember when everyone was going to rewrite everything in Go for performance? Or Rust? Now we’re rewriting the linker in Rust. It’s a pattern.
And what about compatibility? Faster linking is great until your complex project fails to build because of some edge case the new linker doesn’t handle. The transition from GCC to Clang took years, and we’re still dealing with compatibility issues. Wild might be blazing fast, but if it breaks your CI pipeline, that speed advantage disappears real quick.
The Open Source Play
Tellusim going open source with their Core SDK is interesting timing. Basically, they’re betting that community adoption will drive their commercial success. But look – how many graphics/compute frameworks do we really need? We’ve got Vulkan, DirectX, Metal, and countless abstraction layers already. Is there room for another player?
The real question is whether this is a genuine open source commitment or just a marketing play. I’ve seen companies “open source” their SDKs only to keep the important bits proprietary or abandon the project when it doesn’t generate immediate revenue. Building a community around something as complex as graphics programming takes serious long-term commitment.
The Reality of Adoption
Both these projects face the same fundamental challenge: convincing developers to change their workflows. Linkers and graphics APIs are foundational infrastructure. Teams don’t just swap them out because something new and shiny appears. The risk has to be minimal, and the benefits have to be massive and proven.
I’m curious who’s actually using Wild in production today. Are we talking about a handful of early adopters, or are major projects making the switch? And Tellusim – are we looking at another vendor-specific framework that locks you into their ecosystem? These are the questions that matter more than benchmark numbers.
The truth is, most developers will stick with what works until the pain of staying put outweighs the risk of changing. For Wild and Tellusim, that means they need to prove they’re not just faster, but also reliable, well-supported, and here for the long haul. Otherwise, they’re just interesting experiments that Michael Larabel and other tech journalists will write about, while the rest of us keep using the tools that actually get our work done.
