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Zig vs Rust. Which one is going to be future? (snac.bsd.cafe)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Zig vs Rust. Which one is going to be future?

I think about pros and cons and what to choose for the second (modern) language in addition to C.

@[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's too early to tell.

Rust has a killer feature and a tonne of buzz, but poor ergonomics.

Zig is developing into simple elegance and wonderful interop, but has more work to do before it will be widely usable.

It's entirely possible that ideas and lessons taken from them will inspire another language that ends up eclipsing them both.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I would say at this point in time it’s clearly decided that Rust will be part of the future. Maybe there’s a meaningful place for Zig too, but that’s the only part that’s too early to tell.

If you think Zig still has a chance at overtaking Rust though, that’s very much wishful thinking. Zig isn’t memory safe, so any areas where security is paramount are out of reach for it. The industry isn’t going back in that direction.

I actually think Zig might still have a chance in game development, and maybe in specialized areas where Rust’s borrow checker cannot really help anyway, such as JIT compilers.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Okay, but...

it’s clearly decided that Rust will be part of the future.

That's not what OP asked.

If you think Zig still has a chance at overtaking Rust though, that’s very much wishful thinking.

That's not what I said.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

No, OP asked for a black and white winner. I was elaborating because I don’t think it’s that black and white, but if you want a singular answer I think it should be clear: Rust.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I see. You replied to me, though, with commentary that didn't fit the question I was answering or the thoughts I was expressing. Don't you think it would have made more sense as a reply to OP?