Rust initially was much harder to learn. The compiler was considerably more strict - rejecting a lot of programs that were entirely valid. That earned rust a ve

Rust initially was much harder to learn. The compiler was considerably more strict - rejecting a lot of programs that were entirely valid. That earned rust a very negative "hard language" reputation early on. That hasn't been the case for years. The 2018 edition officially stabilized Non-Lexical Lifetimes, allowing tons of valid programs to work. There have been a lot of other improvements since then to address papercuts. At this point Rust is a pretty easy language to learn imo.