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And as a bonus they're building all this in Rust, probably the first language to seriously compete with C++ (for the things C++ is good at, like web browsers an

And as a bonus they're building all this in Rust, probably the first language to seriously compete with C++ (for the things C++ is good at, like web browsers and game engines, where complexity and speed rule out most other languages).

s986s 11y ago
I think them building it in rust is a good thing. But rust is a mozilla project so its not as though theyre doing people favors. What it certainly does is showcase the strength of the language considering they have proven to be so badass
- ultramancool 11y ago
  That's sort of what I meant to get at - building Rust is a huge service to other people, and an important one too. Servo is showing that they're really putting the effort into optimizing it and making things work as best as possible.
narag 11y ago
Not sure if you have noticed but... you are agreeing to a comment that celebrates Mozilla focusing in, and only in, its core competency and adding that they used a new language they created :-)
- DasIch 11y ago
  Browsers are already highly specialized and complex VMs. If you have the ability to build a browser and work on all parts of it, you have the ability to create new languages. So creating a new language is not at all that far away from their core competency. They are also working in a space where they have a strong need for a good systems language, so the motivation is there as well.
clouddrover 11y ago
> probably the first language to seriously compete with C++ How about Object Pascal? I think Object Pascal is a better C++ than C++. It's too bad it isn't more widely used. Here are a couple of interesting perspectives from people who have done some recent development with Object Pascal: 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11005203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11005203 (see also https://github.com/whatwg/wattsi https://github.com/whatwg/wattsi) 2. http://ziotom78.blogspot.com/2015/01/lfi-data-analysis-with-fpc.html http://ziotom78.blogspot.com/2015/01/lfi-data-analysis-with-...
- rtpg 11y ago
  I think the comment isn't really about the technical merits, but more about the fact that Rust has gotten some major traction, not just in Mozilla but elsewhere.
  - clouddrover 11y ago
    Where else? Rust usage is quite small at the moment relative to Object Pascal and definitely to C++. The new language that's rapidly gaining marketshare is Swift, mostly because Apple's pushing it.
    - Crespyl 11y ago
      The most notable one I'm aware of is Dropbox, who are reportedly using Rust in production for some low-level parts of their storage platform.
      - clouddrover 11y ago
        Do you have a link to the reports? Python and Go seem to be used a lot at Dropbox. Blog post on their Go usage: https://blogs.dropbox.com/tech/2014/07/open-sourcing-our-go-libraries/ https://blogs.dropbox.com/tech/2014/07/open-sourcing-our-go-... I could only find two Rust repositories on their github page, both of which are library bindings forked from other projects, so that seems to indicate some Rust usage. But then again there are more Haskell repositories than Rust repositories: https://github.com/dropbox https://github.com/dropbox

s986s 11y ago

I think them building it in rust is a good thing. But rust is a mozilla project so its not as though theyre doing people favors. What it certainly does is showcase the strength of the language considering they have proven to be so badass

ultramancool 11y ago
That's sort of what I meant to get at - building Rust is a huge service to other people, and an important one too. Servo is showing that they're really putting the effort into optimizing it and making things work as best as possible.

narag 11y ago

Not sure if you have noticed but... you are agreeing to a comment that celebrates Mozilla focusing in, and only in, its core competency and adding that they used a new language they created :-)

DasIch 11y ago
Browsers are already highly specialized and complex VMs. If you have the ability to build a browser and work on all parts of it, you have the ability to create new languages. So creating a new language is not at all that far away from their core competency. They are also working in a space where they have a strong need for a good systems language, so the motivation is there as well.

clouddrover 11y ago

> probably the first language to seriously compete with C++ How about Object Pascal? I think Object Pascal is a better C++ than C++. It's too bad it isn't more widely used. Here are a couple of interesting perspectives from people who have done some recent development with Object Pascal: 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11005203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11005203 (see also https://github.com/whatwg/wattsi https://github.com/whatwg/wattsi) 2. http://ziotom78.blogspot.com/2015/01/lfi-data-analysis-with-fpc.html http://ziotom78.blogspot.com/2015/01/lfi-data-analysis-with-...

rtpg 11y ago
I think the comment isn't really about the technical merits, but more about the fact that Rust has gotten some major traction, not just in Mozilla but elsewhere.
- clouddrover 11y ago
  Where else? Rust usage is quite small at the moment relative to Object Pascal and definitely to C++. The new language that's rapidly gaining marketshare is Swift, mostly because Apple's pushing it.
  - Crespyl 11y ago
    The most notable one I'm aware of is Dropbox, who are reportedly using Rust in production for some low-level parts of their storage platform.
    - clouddrover 11y ago
      Do you have a link to the reports? Python and Go seem to be used a lot at Dropbox. Blog post on their Go usage: https://blogs.dropbox.com/tech/2014/07/open-sourcing-our-go-libraries/ https://blogs.dropbox.com/tech/2014/07/open-sourcing-our-go-... I could only find two Rust repositories on their github page, both of which are library bindings forked from other projects, so that seems to indicate some Rust usage. But then again there are more Haskell repositories than Rust repositories: https://github.com/dropbox https://github.com/dropbox