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Has there really been no effort to modernize some/most/all of the GNU coreutils code - while keeping the language and the license?

Switching language to Rust and changing the license does not make for a drop-in replacement, I would say.

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GNU coreutils will never modernize.

Nobody is switching language and license of GNU coreutils. This is a greenfield project.

> Switching language to Rust and changing the license does not make for a drop-in replacement, I would say.

Why?

Not your parent, but, to "replace" something means that it fills the same need you have as something else. The trick with talking about this in a generic context is that some people "need" some things and some do not. Your parent is saying "I do not like Rust and I prefer the GPL, and so this is not equivalent in my eyes." This can be true, while for a different person, simultaneously, "I like Rust and dislike the GPL, and so this is an equivalent in my eyes" can be true as well.

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