In the world of programming, languages can start holy wars.
Established languages like JavaScript and Python have been staples of the tech world for decades — but Rust, a programming language that began as a side project at Mozilla in 2010, is gaining steam, per Wired.
Why Rust?
There are two reasons it’s blowing up right now:
- Security: Rust makes it impossible for programmers to add memory-safety bugs to their code, which account for ~70% of security vulnerabilities.
- Performance: While Rust isn’t the only “memory-safe” language out there, its advocates say it’s faster than other ones, like Java.
These traits, combined with a growing community, have earned the language rave reviews.
In June, Rust won the title of most loved language on Stack Overflow for the seventh year in a row, with 87% of users saying they want to continue using it.
It’s not just developers
Some of the biggest players in tech have made big bets on Rust as well:
- Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have been using Rust since 2019, and even partnered with Mozilla and Huawei to create the Rust Foundation, a nonprofit to grow the language.
Of course, no language is perfect, and Rust has its downsides — including a longer learning curve than other languages — but its champions argue the trade-off is worth it.
BTW, to find out what your programming language says about you, this post compares programming languages to zodiac signs.
