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> Rust's big innovation is not allowing you to make memory errors (in designated sections of your code) I’d actually say Rust’s ownership model is its defining
by chrismorgan 5y ago
> Rust's big innovation is not allowing you to make memory errors (in designated sections of your code)
I’d actually say Rust’s ownership model is its defining feature and big innovation; memory safety without garbage collection was the original goal of the project, but that has arguably actually ended up being more of a side-effect of the ownership model than the actual artefact, from the innovations perspective. Several other languages have been adopting significant ideas from Rust’s ownership model without actually needing it for memory safety.
(Also, some factual clarifications on the wording you used: Rust doesn’t allow you to make memory errors except in areas marked with the “unsafe” keyword—you’re marking small dangerous zones, rather than marking safe zones. But scripting languages are normally memory-safe too, it’s the absence of any garbage collector that makes Rust special there.)
- brundolf 5y agoEither way the point stands: Rust’s biggest features are about what you can’t do, not what you can do
- chrismorgan 5y agoAbsolutely.