Rust: A Rising Programming Language
If you’re wondering why developers are talking about Rust and why the programming language has developed a bit of a cult following, welcome to the place to shed more light on why many are becoming “Rustaceans.”
As a developer, you’re always on the lookout for the next great programming language, whether it allows for creating cooler projects or upskilling and more job opportunities. With so many options out there, it can be tough to know where best to begin in placing time learning a new language. However the case, Rust is one language that should definitely be on your radar. Here’s a brief history of the language and why it’s a heavy contender:
Rust
Rust was first announced by Mozilla in 2010 as a research project. It is a “memory-safe compiled programming language for building high-performance systems.” It was designed by a team of developers led by Graydon Hoare, who was inspired by the challenges of writing reliable and efficient systems software. Rust was created to address the shortcomings of existing systems programming languages, such as C and C++, which are prone to security vulnerabilities, crashes, and other types of bugs.
After several years of development, Rust was released to the public in 2015 with version 1.0. Since then, the language has continued to evolve and gain popularity among developers. The project is now led by the Rust Core Team, a group of developers from various organizations who oversee the language’s development and ecosystem. The stable release of version 1.67.1 was on February 9th of this year!
Rust’s official mascot, Ferris the crab, was created by the artist Steve Klabnik and has become a beloved symbol of the Rust community (and possibly the cutest mascot ever!). The language is now used by companies and organizations such as Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Dropbox, and is widely regarded as a promising language for the future of systems programming.
The Linux Kernel Trusts Rust & You Should Too!
The Linux kernel is arguably one of the most important pieces of software in the world, and it’s been written mostly in C, a language that’s notorious for its memory management challenges. However, that’s starting to change, as the kernel is beginning to incorporate Rust. This is a big deal, as it’s a clear sign that Rust is a language that’s ready for prime time. If the creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds, trusts Rust enough to use it in his own project, you pretty much know it’s worth paying attention to and betting on the future of.
A Ryan Dahl’s Endorsement
Ryan Dahl is the creator of Node.js (and Deno!), a wildly popular JavaScript runtime. Recently, he tweeted that he’d never start a C++ project again, citing Rust as the reason. This is a ringing endorsement from another respected developer, and it’s a testament to the power of Rust. With Rust, you get the performance of C++ without the headaches.
Ryan: I have the most fun writing Rust these days. It has a steep learning curve and is not appropriate for many problems; but for the stuff I’m working on now it’s perfect. It’s a much better C++. I’m convinced that I will never start a new C++ project.
Rust’s Unique Features
Rust has a number of features that make it stand out from other languages. One of the most notable is Cargo, Rust’s package manager. Cargo makes it easy to manage dependencies, build projects, and more. To date, Rust’s crate registry has over 100 thousand crates in stock! Additionally, Rust’s borrowing and ownership system ensures that your code is memory-safe without the need for garbage collection. This makes it a great language for systems programming and other performance-critical applications. No wonder Linus and Ryan respect Rust, its future seems promising!
The Growing Rust Community
One of the best things about Rust is its community. According to the 2022 Stack Overflow survey, Rust is the most loved language among developers, and it’s easy to see why. The Rust community is friendly, welcoming, and passionate about the language. Plus, the official mascot, Ferris, is pretty cute. Becoming a “Rustacean” is a cool opportunity that may lead to even bigger and better benefits to come. Two things are for sure, the first being that the Rust ecosystem is sure to grow with time. The second is that those who decide to invest their time in learning Rust, have nothing to lose and almost everything to gain!
A Rust Project You Might Not’ve Known About
Rust is a relatively new language, but it’s already making waves. One of its most popular projects includes the Firefox web browser. Check out this Mozilla blog for the scoop!
Mozilla used Rust to build Stylo, the CSS engine in Firefox (replacing approximately 160,000 lines of C++ with 85,000 lines of Rust). It takes a lot for a new programming language to be successful. Rust’s growth is thanks to literally thousands of contributors and a strong culture of inclusion.
Finally, here’s a quick code snippet to give you a taste of Rust syntax:
fn main() {
let x = 42;
let y = "Hello, world!";
println!("The answer is {} and the message is {}", x, y);
}As you can see, Rust is a language that’s both powerful and expressive. It’s also a lot of fun to work with. Try it out for yourself and see what all the fuss is about!
Are you interested in Rust or becoming a Rustacean? What are some of your favorite programming languages? Feel free to share with me!
Thank you for reading my blog, here are some more resources on Rust:
The Rust Programming Language Documentation
Let’s Get Rusty Youtube Channel
A Not so Short Introduction to the Rust Programming Language
