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> rust doesn't look like it has a steep learning curve I'll have to strongly disagree. I tried learning it as my first language and was blown away by the prere

by justaj 6y ago

> rust doesn't look like it has a steep learning curve I'll have to strongly disagree. I tried learning it as my first language and was blown away by the prerequisite knowledge I had to have in order to understand even the basic concepts. Added to the fact that currently there aren't even learning resources available for people like me, makes this language mostly suitable for people already familiar with other languages.

baq 6y ago
The other side of the coin is that programming, software development and software engineering are really really difficult and Rust simply exposes you to a much larger subset than most other languages in order for your code to execute. Note that those things that Rust forces you to think about exist in all these other languages, they’re just hidden, for good reason, but also for a price.
ghosty141 6y ago
Not having a steep learning curve does not imply it‘s a good first language. I‘d recommend python to get started and then switching to a staticly typed lang. Rust requires you to have quite some experience to know when to use what.
brabel 6y ago
> rust doesn't look like it has a steep learning curve > I'll have to strongly disagree. You're not alone... It's the first time I hear anyone saying Rust does NOT have a steep learning curve. It's widely considered as one of the most difficult languages out there (the fact it's also one of the most loved seems to not be a coincidence: only if you actually like it do you manage to get past the initial difficulty). Even very experienced programmers find it difficult because you just can't write code the way you're used to when not having the borrow check limitations.
- estebank 6y ago
  I have the unsubstantiated theory that experienced developers have a harder time than less experienced developers when learning Rust. You need to forget a lot of constructs that work well enough in the languages you already know because they introduce things that go counter the single owner enforcement that Rust has, whereas somebody with less experience will simultaneously accept restrictions as "just the way it is" and not seek out more performant constructs that are much harder to understand.
  - brabel 6y ago
    The parent commenter is an example of a beginner programmer who found it very hard to start with Rust as a first language. I believe he's typical because as he said, you need to know A LOT of things in Rust to get even very simple things done, unlike "easier" languages like Python and JavaScript.

by justaj 6y ago

baq 6y ago

The other side of the coin is that programming, software development and software engineering are really really difficult and Rust simply exposes you to a much larger subset than most other languages in order for your code to execute. Note that those things that Rust forces you to think about exist in all these other languages, they’re just hidden, for good reason, but also for a price.

ghosty141 6y ago

Not having a steep learning curve does not imply it‘s a good first language. I‘d recommend python to get started and then switching to a staticly typed lang. Rust requires you to have quite some experience to know when to use what.

brabel 6y ago

> rust doesn't look like it has a steep learning curve > I'll have to strongly disagree. You're not alone... It's the first time I hear anyone saying Rust does NOT have a steep learning curve. It's widely considered as one of the most difficult languages out there (the fact it's also one of the most loved seems to not be a coincidence: only if you actually like it do you manage to get past the initial difficulty). Even very experienced programmers find it difficult because you just can't write code the way you're used to when not having the borrow check limitations.

estebank 6y ago
I have the unsubstantiated theory that experienced developers have a harder time than less experienced developers when learning Rust. You need to forget a lot of constructs that work well enough in the languages you already know because they introduce things that go counter the single owner enforcement that Rust has, whereas somebody with less experience will simultaneously accept restrictions as "just the way it is" and not seek out more performant constructs that are much harder to understand.
- brabel 6y ago
  The parent commenter is an example of a beginner programmer who found it very hard to start with Rust as a first language. I believe he's typical because as he said, you need to know A LOT of things in Rust to get even very simple things done, unlike "easier" languages like Python and JavaScript.