remove -Csoft-float by RalfJung · Pull Request #152973 · rust-lang/rust

RalfJung · 2026-02-22T16:20:04Z

This fixes #129893 by removing the offending flag.

The flag has been added in pre-1.0 times (#9617) without much discussion, probably with the intent to mirror -msoft-float in C compilers. It never properly mirrored clang though because it only affected the LLVM float ABI setting, not the "soft-float" target feature (the clang flag sets both). It is also blatantly unsound because it affects how float arguments are passed, making it UB to invoke parts of the standard library.

The flag got deprecated with Rust 1.83 (released November 2024), and in the year since then, nobody spoke up in #129893 to have it preserved. I think it is time to remove it. I can totally imagine us bringing back a similar flag, properly registered as a target modifier to preserve soundness, but that should come with a coherent design that works for more than one architecture (the flag only does anything on ARM).

Blocked on approval of rust-lang/compiler-team#971.

rustbot · 2026-02-22T16:20:08Z

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RalfJung · 2026-02-22T16:24:33Z

Cc'ing some ARM folks (strangely does not seem to exist as a github group, making it hard to ping):
@adamgemmell @davidtwco @Jamesbarford @JamieCunliffe @lqd

Urgau · 2026-02-22T20:54:21Z

Are there any precedent for out-right removing a flag?

I see that we have options where we set a special flag that keep the flag, probably to not break people who set it, but still outputs a warning to tell them it does nothing.

rust/compiler/rustc_session/src/options.rs

Lines 2059 to 2062 in e220d28

    
           #[rustc_lint_opt_deny_field_access("documented to do nothing")] 
        
           ar: String = (String::new(), parse_string, [UNTRACKED], 
        
               "this option is deprecated and does nothing", 
        
               deprecated_do_nothing: true),

RalfJung · 2026-02-22T21:11:28Z

I guess that would also work. Not sure if it's better to silently ignore the flag vs show an error.

Urgau · 2026-02-22T21:16:47Z

I think it still warns.

rust/compiler/rustc_session/src/options.rs

Lines 754 to 758 in 1500f0f

    
           if *is_deprecated_and_do_nothing { 
        
               // deprecation works for prefixed options only 
        
               assert!(!prefix.is_empty()); 
        
               early_dcx.early_warn(format!("`-{prefix} {key}`: {desc}")); 
        
           }

RalfJung · 2026-02-22T21:18:59Z

Oh, the macro calls the field deprecated_do_nothing but really it's called is_deprecated_and_do_nothing? That's very confusing, no wonder my grep didn't find anything.

Noratrieb · 2026-02-23T09:37:21Z

Given that this has ABI implications, ignoring it seems even more horribly unsound than its current existence. Someone passing it is likely relying on it, so erroring seems like the correct behavior.

Noratrieb · 2026-02-23T09:38:55Z

(FWIW I think the nomination should be removed and a Zulip topic or MCP opened instead. T-compiler doesn't really do design discussions or decisions in meetings unless there's a lack of activity elsewhere or it's urgent)

RalfJung · 2026-02-23T09:55:43Z

Oh, so why does that label exist then...?

Noratrieb · 2026-02-23T10:14:09Z

Sometimes we do nominate things for the compiler team triage meeting, like if it's urgent or has a lack of progress. But because of the scale of the team, the triage meeting has a different purpose than other team's meetings. I'm not sure if it is documented anywhere, but it should probably be.

jieyouxu · 2026-02-23T10:48:21Z

Cc'ing some ARM folks (strangely does not seem to exist as a github group, making it hard to ping)

(It's not a github team, but it is an triagebot ping/notif group, see https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org/notification-groups/arm.html, invocation is @rustbot ping arm)

EDIT: also, an MCP for this would probably be good, we can kickoff FCP on the MCP itself.

RalfJung · 2026-02-23T18:49:24Z

I filed an MCP: rust-lang/compiler-team#971.

RalfJung · 2026-02-24T09:51:11Z

compiler/rustc_session/src/options.rs

                }
                if !setter(&mut op, value) {
                    match value {
+                        _ if *type_desc == desc::parse_error => early_dcx.early_fatal(


This is quite the hack. I guess a better option would be to extend is_deprecated_and_do_nothing so that it can indicate both "ignored" and "removed"?

RalfJung · 2026-02-25T10:41:49Z

compiler/rustc_session/src/options.rs

    pub(crate) use super::*;
    pub(crate) const MAX_THREADS_CAP: usize = 256;

+    /// THis is always an error. Used for removed options.


Suggested change

/// THis is always an error. Used for removed options.

/// This is always an error. Used for removed options.

rustbot · 2026-03-04T13:16:10Z

This PR was rebased onto a different main commit. Here's a range-diff highlighting what actually changed.

Rebasing is a normal part of keeping PRs up to date, so no action is needed—this note is just to help reviewers.

RalfJung added relnotes Marks issues that should be documented in the release notes of the next release. I-compiler-nominated Nominated for discussion during a compiler team meeting. labels Feb 22, 2026

rustbot assigned JonathanBrouwer Feb 22, 2026

rustbot mentioned this pull request Feb 22, 2026

Tracking issue for release notes of #152973: remove -Csoft-float #152974

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RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch from b7fcb70 to e220d28 Compare February 22, 2026 17:37

RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch 2 times, most recently from 26a9ee8 to a389cd6 Compare February 22, 2026 21:27

RalfJung mentioned this pull request Feb 23, 2026

Remove -Csoft-float rust-lang/compiler-team#971

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RalfJung removed the I-compiler-nominated Nominated for discussion during a compiler team meeting. label Feb 23, 2026

RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch from a389cd6 to 62358c4 Compare February 24, 2026 09:15

RalfJung commented Feb 24, 2026

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RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch from 62358c4 to 25ef24b Compare February 25, 2026 07:40

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RalfJung commented Feb 25, 2026

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JonathanBrouwer added S-blocked Status: Blocked on something else such as an RFC or other implementation work. and removed S-waiting-on-review Status: Awaiting review from the assignee but also interested parties. labels Feb 27, 2026

RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch from 25ef24b to e385b62 Compare March 2, 2026 12:20

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RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch 2 times, most recently from 67a79c7 to 69146dd Compare March 2, 2026 16:11

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remove -Csoft-float

3b938c5

RalfJung force-pushed the soft-float branch from 69146dd to 3b938c5 Compare March 4, 2026 13:16

	/// THis is always an error. Used for removed options.
	/// This is always an error. Used for removed options.

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