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I'm more fed up with smug rustaceans acting like everything Rust does is somehow novel. Just because you're not aware that a language feature already existed

by jghn 2y ago

I'm more fed up with smug rustaceans acting like everything Rust does is somehow novel. Just because *you're* not aware that a language feature already existed earlier doesn't mean Rust invented it.

zozbot234 2y ago
The whole point of Rust was to take developments in programming language theory from 20 years ago or so and make them practical for widespread use. Practically nothing Rust does is new, because "new" stuff means that the overall implications of that language feature have yet to be figured out. Which is bad if you want to keep your language elegant and easy to learn.
- jghn 2y ago
  > Practically nothing Rust does is new That's my point in a nutshell. It's a cool language. But there's a growing number of converts for whom this is their first introduction to these concepts, and they don't seem to have the intellectual curiosity to dive deeper. I also see this behavior with Typescript and "powerful type systems"
spoiler 2y ago
People will point out features they like about Rust, sure. But I've never seen anyone be smug about it, or claim they're novel features. Edit: Maybe these types of low quality comments exist on social networks, but... Isn't that just the norm for social networks? You can say the same about cooking advice on social media, or "life hacks" content, etc
escobar_west 2y ago
Is there another language out there which encodes lifetime semantics and affine types besides Rust? AFAIK there isn't (happy to hear otherwise though).
rramadass 2y ago
I have had some back-and-forth with some rustaceans here on HN and most seem to be cargo culting. I am all for enthusiasm/evangelism when there really is something noteworthy but not blind religious fervour. Graydon Hoare/Manish Goregaokar are on record saying they took good ideas from old (and lesser known) languages and putting them together in Rust based on their view of how a modern language should be like. Obviously this is not a bad thing but folks need to be aware of history and how they got to where they are now. Rustaceans would do well to read something like Raphael Finkel's book Advanced Programming Language Design where a whole bunch of languages and their unique features are shown/compared.

I'm more fed up with smug rustaceans acting like everything Rust does is somehow novel. Just because *you're* not aware that a language feature already existed

by jghn 2y ago

I'm more fed up with smug rustaceans acting like everything Rust does is somehow novel. Just because *you're* not aware that a language feature already existed earlier doesn't mean Rust invented it.

zozbot234 2y ago

The whole point of Rust was to take developments in programming language theory from 20 years ago or so and make them practical for widespread use. Practically nothing Rust does is new, because "new" stuff means that the overall implications of that language feature have yet to be figured out. Which is bad if you want to keep your language elegant and easy to learn.

jghn 2y ago
> Practically nothing Rust does is new That's my point in a nutshell. It's a cool language. But there's a growing number of converts for whom this is their first introduction to these concepts, and they don't seem to have the intellectual curiosity to dive deeper. I also see this behavior with Typescript and "powerful type systems"

spoiler 2y ago

People will point out features they like about Rust, sure. But I've never seen anyone be smug about it, or claim they're novel features. Edit: Maybe these types of low quality comments exist on social networks, but... Isn't that just the norm for social networks? You can say the same about cooking advice on social media, or "life hacks" content, etc

escobar_west 2y ago

Is there another language out there which encodes lifetime semantics and affine types besides Rust? AFAIK there isn't (happy to hear otherwise though).

rramadass 2y ago

I have had some back-and-forth with some rustaceans here on HN and most seem to be cargo culting. I am all for enthusiasm/evangelism when there really is something noteworthy but not blind religious fervour. Graydon Hoare/Manish Goregaokar are on record saying they took good ideas from old (and lesser known) languages and putting them together in Rust based on their view of how a modern language should be like. Obviously this is not a bad thing but folks need to be aware of history and how they got to where they are now. Rustaceans would do well to read something like Raphael Finkel's book Advanced Programming Language Design where a whole bunch of languages and their unique features are shown/compared.