4 ms·

So why is Zig being dwarfed by Rust in this arena? Shouldn't Zig be more popular or is it still too small and immature?

by sgt 5y ago

wyldfire 5y ago
Zig refers to itself with a version number < 1 and says that the language is not yet stable. That's going to filter the less adventurous crowd out right away. And that's probably ideal - zig can work out the kinks with the adventurous crowd and be better prepared for its post-1.0 life.
rthomas6 5y ago
I haven't used Zig, but my understanding is that Zig is more comparable to C, whereas Rust is more comparable to C++. Zig is a much smaller and simpler language, but Rust has more high level constructs and abstractions.
- sgt 5y ago
  I can't comment on either, but I do enjoy C and you can build relatively safe C programs using tools like Valgrind and static analysis. So unless you are building the next OpenSSL it could very well be worth sticking to C11.
- mamcx 5y ago
  > whereas Rust is more comparable to C++ That only in matter of complexity. If rust were actually comparable to C++ it will a major mess. Rust is actually a ML + C + Haskell-ish lang..
  - sgt 5y ago
    And that's exactly why I am a bit worried about learning it. I am not looking for a language that is too theoretical, like Haskell.
    - mamcx 5y ago
      > I am not looking for a language that is too theoretical, like Haskell. Rust is not "theoretical", but have some theory applied to great effect. The comparison to Haskell is more in the use functional idioms, algebraic types, pattern matching and bits here and there...
    - programmer_dude 5y ago
      It's a very practical language (more than C or C++). But it does have a challenging learning curve. Pay no attention to how the language was derived. Just dive into it.
zozbot234 5y ago
Rust is built to be 100% memory safe, not just "hard to misuse in practice". Of course the claim comes with some provisos about how you're always relying on 'unsafe' code, but there is real value to it. Zig is interesting but doesn't have that USP.
- sgt 5y ago
  So basically Zig is a toy, Rust is for serious stuff.
  - catlifeonmars 5y ago
    That’s an oversimplification. There are many reasons to choose one programming language over another. Strong guarantees of memory safety is only one design parameter.
  - kaba0 5y ago
    Is C a toy? Zig just provides different guarantees.

So why is Zig being dwarfed by Rust in this arena? Shouldn't Zig be more popular or is it still too small and immature?

by sgt 5y ago

So why is Zig being dwarfed by Rust in this arena? Shouldn't Zig be more popular or is it still too small and immature?

Zig refers to itself with a version number < 1 and says that the language is not yet stable. That's going to filter the less adventurous crowd out right away. And that's probably ideal - zig can work out the kinks with the adventurous crowd and be better prepared for its post-1.0 life.

rthomas6 5y ago

I haven't used Zig, but my understanding is that Zig is more comparable to C, whereas Rust is more comparable to C++. Zig is a much smaller and simpler language, but Rust has more high level constructs and abstractions.

sgt 5y ago
I can't comment on either, but I do enjoy C and you can build relatively safe C programs using tools like Valgrind and static analysis. So unless you are building the next OpenSSL it could very well be worth sticking to C11.
mamcx 5y ago
> whereas Rust is more comparable to C++ That only in matter of complexity. If rust were actually comparable to C++ it will a major mess. Rust is actually a ML + C + Haskell-ish lang..
- sgt 5y ago
  And that's exactly why I am a bit worried about learning it. I am not looking for a language that is too theoretical, like Haskell.
  - mamcx 5y ago
    > I am not looking for a language that is too theoretical, like Haskell. Rust is not "theoretical", but have some theory applied to great effect. The comparison to Haskell is more in the use functional idioms, algebraic types, pattern matching and bits here and there...
  - programmer_dude 5y ago
    It's a very practical language (more than C or C++). But it does have a challenging learning curve. Pay no attention to how the language was derived. Just dive into it.

zozbot234 5y ago

Rust is built to be 100% memory safe, not just "hard to misuse in practice". Of course the claim comes with some provisos about how you're always relying on 'unsafe' code, but there is real value to it. Zig is interesting but doesn't have that USP.

sgt 5y ago
So basically Zig is a toy, Rust is for serious stuff.
- catlifeonmars 5y ago
  That’s an oversimplification. There are many reasons to choose one programming language over another. Strong guarantees of memory safety is only one design parameter.
- kaba0 5y ago
  Is C a toy? Zig just provides different guarantees.