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It's an inapt comparison and the comparison should not be made naively. If I spent the next 6-12 months writing libraries in Rust targeted towards Python-level

by pnathan 13y ago

It's an inapt comparison and the comparison should not be made naively. If I spent the next 6-12 months writing libraries in Rust targeted towards Python-level code, we could spend time comparing Rust + those libraries vs. Go and have a productive discussion. Personally, I think that Go is a clumsy language, a chimera of C plus Python, having neither type safety nor significant abstraction nuance. More sophisticated minds than I have flamed Go in depth, I won't bother parroting them. :-) Go's primary advantages are: 1. Google. 2. Targeting the Python/Ruby developers & needs. 3. Compiled & statically linked 4. Relatively stable. Rust's chief disadvantages are: 1. Still < 1.0. 2. Semi-manual memory management. Gc'd pointers are kind of a pain. 3. How many pointer types again? >.< 4. Strongly typed. [1] If I was given a mandating hand to develop a reliable and efficient system for most applications to maintain (with funding) over the 5-10 year term, I would be OK with choosing Rust today, with the expectation that we'd have some porting and heavy lifting as things change, possibly even contributing development time to the Rust project. [1] Probably should expand this. You have to spend serious time understanding how the type system works after you get into the more advanced type systems. Haskell, ML. It's a disadvantage for quick learning and the quick hack to get the system working. Changes simple in a less typed language (e.g., Perl) can have non-local type ramifications in a project. /me handwaves. It's double-edged.

pcwalton 13y ago
> 2. Semi-manual memory management. Gc'd pointers are kind of a pain. Well, that's exactly what makes Rust so useful for many domains. Rust is useful for systems code because it doesn't use GC for everything. > 3. How many pointer types again? >.< There are references and then smart pointers, of which owned pointers (~) are one kind.
NateDad 13y ago
Not sure how you come to the conclusion that Go doesn't have type safety. In the end, the languages are quite different. Rust is ML/Haskelly, Go is C-ish. It's a matter of whether you like the advanced type systems, options, matching, etc in Rust, or if you want something that is capable, but a lot more straightforward and easier to come up to speed on, like Go.

by pnathan 13y ago

pcwalton 13y ago

> 2. Semi-manual memory management. Gc'd pointers are kind of a pain. Well, that's exactly what makes Rust so useful for many domains. Rust is useful for systems code because it doesn't use GC for everything. > 3. How many pointer types again? >.< There are references and then smart pointers, of which owned pointers (~) are one kind.

NateDad 13y ago

Not sure how you come to the conclusion that Go doesn't have type safety. In the end, the languages are quite different. Rust is ML/Haskelly, Go is C-ish. It's a matter of whether you like the advanced type systems, options, matching, etc in Rust, or if you want something that is capable, but a lot more straightforward and easier to come up to speed on, like Go.