More Software Engineering Radio episodes
Published 25 Mar 2026
Duration: 59:09
ICE is a Rust-based UI toolkit inspired by Elm's architecture, using message-passing to separate state, updates, and views, evolved from a game library module into a functional-focused standalone tool with Winit/WGPU rendering, cross-platform goals, and challenges in dependency stability, while emphasizing state-driven design, community development, and future improvements in rendering efficiency, accessibility, and multi-platform support.
Hector Ramon Jimenez, creator of iced, an Elm-inspired, cross-platform GUI toolkit for Rust, speaks with SE Radio host Gavin Henry about building a GU...
ICE is a Rust-based GUI toolkit inspired by Elm's architecture, developed as a standalone library from Hector's original UI module. It emphasizes functional programming principles through a message-passing system, separating state, update logic, and view logic. ICE initially relied on Winit for windowing and later integrated Stretch for layout before removing it due to bugs. The toolkit aims for cross-platform support but faces challenges in stabilizing multi-platform functionality. It includes a renderer converting widget descriptions into pixel data, essential for displaying UI components like buttons and text. Key features include a state-driven UI, where messages trigger updates and transitions, influenced by Elm's model-view-update (MVU) pattern. ICE leverages Rust's safety and performance, using Winit for windowing and WGPU or TinySkiia for rendering. The ecosystem has grown with over 30,000 GitHub stars, though community contributions are encouraged for projects like Winit. Testing and development focus on reactive rendering, headless testing, and time-travel debugging tools like Comet. ICE is used in applications like Pop OS (Cosmic desktop) and the Halloween IRC client, with future plans including accessibility improvements and incremental rendering for performance optimization. Challenges include addressing mobile-specific needs and improving internationalization support, leaving localization to third-party crates like Fluent. The toolkit's development prioritizes iterative improvements over fixed versioning, with ongoing efforts to refine rendering, expand capabilities, and stabilize platform support.
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