Rust vs. C++ - Which Technology Should You Choose? - Scaler Topics (2024)

What is Rust?

Rust, developed by Mozilla in 2010, is a programming language built to focus on safety and performance, especially safe concurrency. Rust programming language is similar to C++, but it provides memory safety without using garbage collection. It aims to achieve higher performance and better safety than C++.

What is C++?

C++ is an object-oriented programming language. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1985 who was a Danish computer scientist. It is an extension of the C programming language, which has improved concepts. Therefore, it is also known as "C with Classes". C++ is an object-oriented programming language. It provides us with awesome performance, and we can build super-fast applications because it has a very rich library of methods known as the STL (Standard Template Library).

Common Uses of Rust and C++

Although the article is about Rust vs. C++, we must still know the common uses of these programming languages, which are as follows

  • Software running on constrained devices, also known as embedded devices.
  • Kernel driver development
  • Designing libraries for integration with other languages
  • Backend development
  • Game development

Comparing Rust and C++ from a Techincal Perspective

Memory Safety

Initially, the C++ programming language did not have memory safety because the features such as garbage collection may slow down the program's performance. After the recent update in C++, it gets updated with new features like the RAII (Resource Acquisition is Initialization), and the manual memory management features are removed. However, still, the issues related to memory safety are not resolved.

On the other hand, Rust uses its ownership system to solve this issue, which has improved memory safety. This is because it has removed the procedures for manual memory management. Rust provides in-built functions for management procedures, but C++ does not.

Compile Time in Rust vs. C++

Although if we calculate the build times for C++ and Rust, they are almost the same. It still depends on how many templates we have implemented in the C++ project (the more templates, the more will compile time). But generally, C++ performs better when it comes to compiling time. Rust’s compiler is very user-friendly and offers many useful tools which provide error messages.

Pointers and Addresses

A pointer is an object that stores the memory address of another object. Most high-level and low-level languages have some or the other pointer functionality.

C++ provides the shared_ptr and the unique_ptr that can be used and treated like smart pointers. The standard library of Rust also provides many smart pointers. So both Rust and C++ use smart pointers, which provide them many advantages as programming languages.

Object-Oriented Programming

As we already know, C++ is an object-oriented programming language, which is the biggest advantage of C++ over Rust, because Rust is not an object-oriented programming language. C++ provides many features as an Object-oriented language like Classes, objects, templates, inheritance, polymorphism, etc.

Concurrency

The concurrency features in Rust Programming's standard library are nearly similar to that of the C++11 version, i.e., atomics, threads, condition variables, mutexes, etc. However, after the C++ 11 version, many new concurrency-related features were added in the C++14, C++17, and C++20 versions.

Compiler and Platform Support

C++ and Rust have multiple platform support like Windows 32 and 64-bit architectures, Mac, and Linux. But we have more compilers for C++ than that of Rust. As C++ is a widely used programming language, the compiler bugs and glitches are generally reported and fixed quickly, compared to Rust.

External Libraries

Both C++ and Rust offer excellent frameworks and libraries.In Rust, several frameworks offer functional, secure, and robust code like Rocket, Nickel, Azul, etc. On the other hand, C++ contains its famous library known as STL or the Standard Template Library, which is a collection of many useful classes and functions. It provides many containers which can be directly used as data structures, functions that provide different functionality and manipulation for these containers, generic strings, streams, and other language support.

Package-Management and Tooling

Rust has an official package manager known as Cargo, which is similar to Python and JavaScript package managers. On the other hand, C++ also has some good package managers, such as Conan. The Cargo is much easier to use than the Conan.

Support for Game Development

According to the current scenario, C++ is the most used language for game development, and most of the games in the markets are built using C++. Also, the Unreal Engine is developed using C++, the most used game development framework.Although Rust also provides a game development platform, it has powerful frameworks, as we have in C++. We can develop games in Rust, but it will take longer than C++.To conclude, C++ is a better choice for game development than Rust.

Framework Support

Rust is famous for its framework support and has many useful frameworks such as Rocket (A web framework that provides better security, speed, and flexibility), Nickel (A framework that provides user-friendly information flow control systems), and Azul (A GUI framework used to develop desktop applications).

On the other hand, C++ has a rich library known as the STL (Standard Template Library), which contains many built-in functions.

Comparing Rust and C++ from a Non-Technical Perspective

Performance Levels

As both C++ and Rust are low-level languages, the applications build using both languages perform well in latency and throughput. All of them rely on something other than the garbage collector. The point to be kept in mind is that some specific optimization is required in Rust code. C++ allows us to use safe controls such as smart pointers, but Rust uses a binding syntax.

Community Support

Both languages have large community support. C++ has the C++ ISO Committee, while Rust has the Rust Foundation. The community of both languages is very active. But C++ has many more forums, open-source projects, and StackOverflow contributors. This is because C++ is a much older language compared to Rust.

Learning Curve and Speed of Development

Both C++ and Rust are challenging to learn for beginners. However, most people already familiar with C, Java, or C# find the basic syntax of C++ easier to understand. On the other hand, the ownership model and the OOPs implementation of Rust are complicated for most Rust beginners.According to Rust programmers, understanding the syntax of Rust, the development pace of Rust developers has been boosted because the ownership model of Rust provides many features. On the other hand, the ownership model C++ provides unique_ptr and shared_ptr.

What are the Problems That Rust Solves But C++ Doesn’t?

Rust is used in Augmented Reality, Virtual reality, IoT apps, and hardware programming in which C++ failed. Rust is also performing better in embedded or device-based development. It works perfectly for writing low-level software, like system utilities, operating system kernels, microcontroller drivers, etc.

When does C++ Still Win?

C++ is over 35 years old but still performs outstandingly in some areas compared to other languages.

  • Existing code base is more than other languages regarding Existing Products.
  • Compilation time is comparatively less.
  • Game Development is the area where this language performs outstanding.
  • C++ has multiple compilers, i.e., GCC, Clang, Cfront, MinGW, LLVM, and many more.
  • C++ has its very vast STL, i.e., Standard Template Library.
  • C++ arithmetic is safer than Rust.
  • The only advantage of Rust is object lifetime analysis.
  • C++ is faster than Rust.
  • Rust's safety isn't proven.
  • Rust won't help with C libraries.

How to Switch between Rust and C++?

The CXX library is responsible for easy switching between Rust and C++ because it helps call C++ code from Rust and Rust code from C++ and is safe and effective. Before the invention of the CXX library, Rust-C++ integration was very difficult and inconvenient because it required the manual crafting of Rust-C and C-C++ interfaces.

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Conclusion

Both C++ and Rust have great potential and are excellent project choices. Both have outstanding performance, tooling, and community support. But we can conclude the article Rust vs. C++ with the following.

  • Rust is better in memory safety.
  • C++ is better in terms of compile-time and pointers.
  • Rust is better in framework support, while C++ has better libraries than Rust.
  • Object-oriented programming and game development are better in C++.
  • Both have a large community and platform support.
  • The CXX library is responsible for easy switching between Rust and C++.

See Also:

  • C++ Strings.
  • Online C++ Compiler.
Rust vs. C++ - Which Technology Should You Choose? - Scaler Topics (2024)

FAQs

Rust vs. C++ - Which Technology Should You Choose? - Scaler Topics? ›

Each language has its own distinct set of features and applications, and their suitability for different types of projects varies dramatically. For instance, if your startup specialises in desktop applications, C++ is a suitable option, while Rust is better suited to systems programming and web assembly projects.

Is it better to learn Rust or C++? ›

Each language has its own distinct set of features and applications, and their suitability for different types of projects varies dramatically. For instance, if your startup specialises in desktop applications, C++ is a suitable option, while Rust is better suited to systems programming and web assembly projects.

Is Rust really better than C++ on Reddit? ›

The answer is the same comparing C++ and Rust. Rust also has zero-cost abstractions, some of them are the same as C++, others C++ has and Rust doesn't, and others Rust has but C++ doesn't. At its best, optimal Rust is faster than non-optimal C++, and vice-versa.

Can Rust do everything C++ can? ›

Once you get the general idea, Rust is no more restrictive in terms of high-level problem solving than any other strongly and statically-typed language. The low-level mechanics of how one solves certain classes of problems changes, but there's nothing that you could do in C++ but not in Rust.

Is Rust more expressive than C++? ›

Error handling: Rust utilises Result types and match, while C++ uses exceptions and try-catch blocks. Syntax: Pattern matching and closures make Rust's syntax more compact and expressive than C++.

Will Rust really replace C++? ›

Not likely. It will at best become another tool in a programmers toolbox. But languages generally aren't replaced. Just because you have Rust doesn't mean anyone is going to rewrite the potentially hundreds of billions of lines of C++ out in the wild, to say nothing of standard C and such.

Is Rust a C++ killer? ›

The C++ Killers (Not You, Rust) | Hacker News. [Languages like Rust] do help you to write more features with fewer bugs, but they are not of much help when you need to squeeze the very last flop from the hardware you rent. I do think that Rust helps you squeeze out that last 1% of performance over C++.

Is Rust more memory-safe than C++? ›

In Rust, dereferencing a raw pointer is considered unsafe behaviour and the programmer is expected to isolate that code into an unsafe block if needs be. Rust makes these base scenarios inherently safer when compared to C++ or Zig.

Does Rust compile slower than C++? ›

cpp file. This compilation is done in parallel, but parallelism is imperfect. For incremental builds, Rust will take longer to compile than C++ (i.e. C++ wins). This is because Rust compiles one crate at a time, rather than one file at a time like in C++, so Rust has to look at more code after each small change.

Which language is better than Rust? ›

Flexibility Python is applicable in many areas of technology. It supports several domains, like web development, machine learning, etc., with many libraries. While Rust is great for system programming, it offers less flexibility than Python.

Why should I switch to Rust? ›

Rust ensures that whenever there is a mutable borrow of an object, there are no other borrows of that object (either mutable or immutable). All this is enforced at compile time, leading to the elimination of entire classes of errors involving invalid memory access.

Can you get a job with Rust programming language? ›

Launched by Mozilla in 2013, Rust is a modern systems programming language that has gained significant traction for its performance, safety, and concurrency features. Although relatively new, the language has become a go-to option for many programmers, and there has been a sharp rise in Rust developer jobs as a result.

Can I learn C++ and Rust at the same time? ›

C++ programmers learning Rust

Rust and C++ have many similarities, so it is helpful to focus on these similarities when you are first learning Rust. Don't try to learn everything at once. Rust is a complex language, so it is important to take your time and learn one thing at a time.

Is Rust worth the complexity? ›

Rust might not be the best choice for projects that need very rapid development or prototyping, or where cost is a bigger factor than safety and reliability. To summarise: Go is too simple to write complicated programs, while Rust is too complicated to write simple programs.

Can C++ use Rust libraries? ›

Rust has excellent interoperability with C/C++ libraries through its Foreign Function Interface (FFI). You can use the following methods: Raw FFI Directly use extern "C" blocks and #[link(name = "...")] attributes to link and call C functions from Rust.

Is Rust the hardest language? ›

Rust is quite difficult, as it has a lot of interesting concepts. But you need to learn them sometime. Simpler first-time languages include Python, perhaps JavaScript (shudders) and even things like Scratch and SmallBASIC.

Does Rust perform better than C? ›

In theory, Rust allows even better optimizations than C thanks to stricter immutability and aliasing rules, but in practice this doesn't happen yet. Optimizations beyond what C does are a work-in-progress in LLVM, so Rust still hasn't reached its full potential.

Is Rust more memory safe than C++? ›

In Rust, dereferencing a raw pointer is considered unsafe behaviour and the programmer is expected to isolate that code into an unsafe block if needs be. Rust makes these base scenarios inherently safer when compared to C++ or Zig.

Does Rust teach you to be a better programmer? ›

100% yes! There are a few bad habits that rust trains out of you that apply even in garbage collected languages, but most of the bad habits that rust trains out of you are things that snare many a reckless C++ programmer but which don't really come up in garbage collected languages. It's a more fundamental difference.

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