4 ms·
Sorry, but hard no. Not everything in life is relative. There are objectively better programming languages than others. Like there are objectively better vehic
by still_grokking 4y ago
Sorry, but hard no. Not everything in life is relative.
There are objectively better programming languages than others. Like there are objectively better vehicles than others…
The blind Rust fanboyism reached crazy levels by now; and Zig isn't a bad language. (It's actually even quite nice for what it is). But there are very valid rational reasons to prefer one over the other.
Zig is a new language that repeats 50 year old mistakes. That's a very valid reason to criticize it. No memory safety is a big NO in the year 2022! Over 70% of all software malfunctions—and what's even more important, almost 100% of all severe security issues—are a direct result of missing memory safety. Even this one prominent stubborn and arrogant C dude realized that memory safety is an absolute requirement for a new language. That's saying a lot!
Still I recommend Zig to C die-hards. Because it's a slight improvement, and those folks will stick to C anyway otherwise.
But anybody who isn't married to C, and is still mentally flexible enough, should look for a better language instead.
As there are not much C contenders, especially safe and modern ones, the most valid choice right now in that field is Rust. Love it or hate it. It's like that. (And this does not change even in the light of the fact that Rust is currently overpraised by a large margin, and for a lot of "rewrite it in Rust" projects just using a GC language would be a more sane approach. Also there a niches where C can't be replaced by anything for the time being. But that are quite small niches, and they will likely become even smaller over time).