However, is Rust worthy of the developer’s blue-eyed boy?
In this article, I will compare these two popular solutions, covering aspects like memory management, concurrency, tools, performance, ease of learning, etc., to give an overview Rust and Go.
Rust and Golang – definition
Before diving deeper into the features of each language, I’d like to cover some Rust and Go basics to make the article easy to follow. Check out our recent posts if you want to know how Golang compares to Python or C++.
Case of Rust:
Rust was originally created by Graydon Hoare of Mozilla Research, but is now independent. This open source project is often touted as a solution to problems C/C++ developers have had for a long time – memory errors and concurrent programming.
Rust is often mentioned in projects involving embedded devices, kernel driver development, browser engines, and game engines.
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rust is:
static typing,
compilation,
multi model,
high level (but can go down to bare metal and handle low level tasks),
safe concurrent support.
Built for high performance. Go’s case:
The Go programming language is an open source solution invented by Google developers Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike and Ken Thompson.
Golang combines the features of statically typed and dynamically typed languages. In terms of high performance and type safety, it is similar to statically typed languages, and Golang’s good uniformity, expressiveness, and readability are close to dynamically typed languages.
The Go programming language is described as follows:
static typing,
compilation,
multi model,
high level,
with built-in concurrency support.
Wondering if Golang could be a good choice for your project? Read our previous post for the answer.
This is just a brief summary of Go. Read on for other things you need to know about Golang.
Similarities and differences between Rust and Go:
Before comparing the features of these two programming languages in detail, it is worth mentioning that Rust and Golang are great technologies that are widely recommended. Several sources may indicate that a suitable candidate should be selected for each type of project. However, that’s not the right way of thinking – every programming language is created and tailored for different tasks and challenges. Therefore, the language must meet the needs and requirements of the project and not vice versa.
A good knowledge of language features helps to choose technology wisely for the project and get the most out of it.
Rust vs C webinar:
Memory management in the Rust and Go programming language
In Rust, the developer has full memory management. We can clearly see in the code when the data is released. Memory management in Rust is known at compile time.
On the other hand, Golang uses the concept of garbage collectors. Data is not released immediately. Instead, a background process releases data when the amount of data allocated reaches a specified value. Golang’s garbage collector is well optimized, but more unpredictable than Rust’s memory management and adds overhead. When writing software in Golang, we must keep in mind that the garbage collector runs periodically. In many cases, developers don’t have to worry about this, but when our service needs to be updated at a rate of tens of thousands per second, Rust can be a better solution.
