Developers these days compare different technologies more often to understand their advantages and features for different development needs. Recently the comparison between Golang and rust is gaining a huge audience as both are exceptional languages used to deliver efficient solutions, and if you are one of those who want a clear and concise comparison between these languages, then this article is for you as it we will solely focus on a comparison between Golang vs Rust and which one is best for your development needs. So you can decide and opt for the respective language as per your project needs.
Golang and Rust are both the newest open-source projects and if you are in your freshman year at your university and looking for new languages that offer effective solutions then Go and Rust may turn out to be the ideal languages for you as both are the demand of future IT industry. So why not dig deeper and understand which can uplift your development to a greater extent.
What is Golang
Golang, also known as “GO” is an open-source programming language developed by Google in 2007. It was designed for simplicity and efficiency hence it’s called GO rather than Golang, it’s primarily famous for its quick compile time which was made possible by innovation to dependency analysis to offer faster product development.
Moreover, it outperforms interpreted programming languages like python because it converts its source code directly to machine code. Go supports concurrency with the Go routine which are functions that run with other functions by utilizing the multiple threads on the CPU. It is mainly used for developing and managing Cloud-based, Docker and Kubernetes solutions. Hence it’s an ideal choice for Cloud-based and DevOps Roles.
What is Rust
Rust is an open-source memory-saved compiled programming language that provides high-level simplicity and low-level performance to build complex systems like game engines, operating systems and databases. It was introduced in 2010 to deliver robust systems that can help IT roles develop massive projects.
Rust is the most popular programming language worldwide, its community is huge and is preferred by every other developer for IT practices. Unlike other programming languages, it has no garbage collector which is responsible for collecting garbage values but achieves memory safety with a concept known as ownership and borrowing that lets it decide where to allocate the values of variables according to their mutability or immutability functioning. While doing so it verifies if every other rule regarding the borrow checker is followed for effective functioning.
Golang Vs Rust Popularity
Although every programming language separates itself from others with its unique operating functionalities and features, developers and IT enthusiasts like to compare technologies to find out which one is best for what purposes, and it’s necessary as it clears many key areas about technologies and programming languages to opt for better solutions accordingly. Hence, here the argument may raise regarding the popularity of Golang Vs Rust, and to answer this we have mentioned some stats so you can get brief info on their popularity.
1. Popularity of Golang
- i) GO is the most easy-to-learn programming language in the world, some instructors even say that they can teach the Go essentials to a beginner in just 2 hours. That means a beginner will be able to perform operations such as HTTP server handling and command-line app development in that same period. Hence, because of its easy-to-learn curve, it has become a popular choice among future Golang developers.
- ii) According to stack overflow’s 2021 developer survey Go is the 14th most used programming language, and is preferred by 62.74% of developers for daily use and more than 14% of developers have shown interest in using GO in future because of its simplicity and other functionalities.
2. Popularity of Rust
- i) Rust has the robust functiona0lities that catch the eye of every other developer from every corner of the world, as it’s primarily used for building complex solutions such as game engines and operating systems Rust has become a necessity for system development. As it elevates core development to a greater extent, famous IT giants such as Microsoft, Google and Meta are interested in uplifting their operation with its capable functionalities.
- ii) These IT giants want to use Rust to reduce bugs in memory management, and security issues in kernels. The Linux operating system which is heavily built on C programming language has started adapting Rust programming to enhance its capabilities even further.
- iii) Again as per stack overflow’s 2021 developer survey, Rust is the most beloved programming language worldwide ranking 1st for 5th time in a row. This shows how much developers have taken a liking to Rust. More than 86% of developers use Rust for development daily and more than 14% of developers are interested in using this language in future because of its hefty features.
Golang Vs Rust Features
Features are the major things that attract every developer to use programming languages, the more the features the higher the chances of that language being used by a huge number of developers. Every other programming language provides unique features hence it’s important for new languages to drive some innovation in their ecosystem and introduce ease of development that can leverage a developer’s development skills.
1. Features of Golang
Golang has various useful features and is currently used for various IT practices including DevOps and Cloud-based Roles, but why is the Go language the best choice for development amongst a huge number of developers. Some of you might say that it’s not really used by a huge number of developers as it’s backed by an organization such as Google that never reveals its true stats regarding its programming language. Whatever may be the case, Go has some amazing features that stand out and make an appeal to developers to rethink their tools. Below are some of the major features of Go that you can consider opting for-
i) Simple to Use
- Golang is famous for its simple functioning as it’s easy to understand and write codes. Most Go developers will often tell you how simple it is to write code, compile and run the program. Its easy syntax and fast compile time make it an ideal choice for both experienced developers as well as beginners. So if you have some years of experience programming applications using Java, C, and C++ then you can easily adapt to this language and say goodbye to complex functionalities such as classes, inheritance and other tedious programming concepts.
ii) Open Source Project
- You may say, how come being open-source is a feature? Well, open-source projects are operated over a platform such as Github where you can edit the codes of a project and make it even more efficient. Everyone from a beginner to an expert can contribute to open source projects and push its limits further and by doing so the project may become an enhanced version and can be used for effective and complex IT practices.
- Moreover, you can take a look at a project codebase to understand its workflow, which will give you an idea of how to use it and develop your own product.
iii) Rich Set of Standard Library
- Another great feature of the Go language is that it contains rich sets of libraries, which developers can use to write codes much more easily and get involved in ease of development. It covers most of the essential libraries that developers need to build a project, and as it’s open-source, it will likely get more libraries and updates from time to time.
iv) Concurrency
- Concurrency is something every programming language should have, as it benefits coding by using the CPU to its full extent. Go supports concurrency where it lets GO routine to functions with other functions to utilize multiple threads on CPU for better development practices. In simple words it uses CPU fully to provide developers with the quickest compile time.
v) Blazing Fast Compilation
- Golang is also well known for its quick compilation time which allows developers to work on projects at a faster rate. As it converts the source code directly to machine code its compilation time is blazing fast as compared to interpreted languages such as Python. As a developer, you will be working on huge projects and in such a scenario you will need this language for a faster work function.
2. Features of Rust
As we have discussed previously the Rust programming language is primarily used for developing complex systems such as game engines, databases and operating systems but the question raises why Rust? And for that, we have to understand its features.
i) Performance
- Rust is one of the most powerful programming languages and is fast as compared to some of the statically typed programming languages. As it does not have any garage collector it lets code run blazing fast and delivers the utmost performance. For this reason, it can easily run on embedded devices and work flexibly with other languages as well.
ii) Open-Source Project
- Similar to Go, Rust is also open-source. And as we all know that open-source projects require contributions, developers and beginner programmers can contribute to these projects with their brilliant ideas to make this language more reliable and efficient. Moreover, the chances are this language will get stormed by new innovative ideas that may result in advanced features to uplift development.
iii) Error Highlights
- We all know displaying error messages in IDE is important to understand the malfunctioning of any program, every other programming language has the ability to display bugs in a different way with their unique styles. Rust takes it to the next step by introducing colors in error messages which catches the eyes of every developer to fix them. Moreover, it also displays the grammar errors that you have made in a program so you can change it as per suggestion to make it look clear and concise to code readers.
iv) Secured Memory
- This is the prime feature of Rust, as it uses a concept of ownership and borrowing for memory safety, because of this feature many IT giants such as Meta, Microsoft and Google have shown interest in using this programming language. These concepts let it decide where to allocate the values of variables according to their mutability or immutability. Also, it places the values of variables in stack and heap memory as per evaluation. While doing so it verifies if every other rule regarding the borrow checker is followed for effective memory allocation, this eliminates many bugs in classes and in other functions at compile time.
Golang Vs Rust Performance
Performance is something every developer wants for flawless execution and faster product development, and for this reason, they look for an effective solution that can meet all these needs.
Go and Rust both are high-performing languages and both are sometimes used for similar operations, GO was designed to be blazing fast because of its direct conversion of source code into a machine that allows it to compile faster and get results in minutes. On the other hand, Rust is also a powerful and high-performing language that has the ability to smartly allocate memory using the borrow checker method for faster compile-time and executions. Hence, it totally depends on the complexity of the project and of course its flow which will let you decide which one is faster.
Moreover, GO and Rust are well known for their concurrency, which allows them to utilize multiple threads of CPU for quick functioning. Rust has an edge here as it provides developers with more control over the shared resources i.e. between multiple threads. Whereas Go allows developers to face fewer hassles like working on architectural details and focusing more on problem-solving for efficient product development.
Golang Vs Rust Ease of Development
Goland and Rust are credible in performing different operations with different approaches such as web development, application development, game engine development, database solutions, operating system, Kubernetes solutions and dockers etc. if we take GO then we are bound to perform well in the case of web development, docker, application development and Kubernetes as it was initially built to develop these solutions only.
On the other hand, Rust was meant to build complex solutions such as game engines, database solutions and operating systems because of its high-performing capabilities. Hence the ease of development of both of these languages is best for their preferred category of solution. As per beginner’s choice, the Go wins because of its simplicity that cannot be matched by Rust.
Golang vs Rust Future
As the top programming languages, Golang and Rust have a bright future ahead as they are likely to be used by many future developers to build futuristic software solutions. Hence in 2022 and beyond the capabilities of these languages will enhance providing a better ecosystem for developers to implement next-gen functionalities.
i) Future of Golang
Having been used by many popular IT giants and other businesses, there is no doubt that Go stands above its competitors. If we take a look at its features it’s wise to say developers won’t regret choosing Go as it introduces ease of development like no other programming language.
Having said that people wonder where we can use this much simple programming language, we suggest the backend might be the ideal pick where GO will thrive. Why? Mostly because of its easy-to-learn curve, a beginner can learn Go within 2 hours not complex parts but the most essential parts which means future developers are likely to choose Go as their first programming language because of its simplicity and ease to use functionalities. This means the backend might become the most beloved part of every software solution giving rise to huge job opportunities.
ii) Future of Rust
As it plays both parts of programming languages such as being faster and at the same time being secure, IT giants such as Meta, Microsoft and Google have shown interest in this language, not to forget the Linux just have started using Rust for building new features in the operating system this is a huge leap for Rust as it’s about to replace C and C++ in different industries.
Once it gets ISO verified it will be adopted by every single sector including critical infrastructure such as satellite communication, military advances, aerospace and banking for rapid and secured operations.
Golang Vs Rust Jobs
Jobs are the crucial element in keeping your organization operational overseas. And as remote work culture pushes its limits the Go and Rust jobs are experiencing high demand in every corner of the world.
Golang jobs are booming worldwide as the language is flexible and compatible with other technologies and frameworks. Not to forget it’s easier to train developers with this language because of its simplicity. IT giants have recognised these traits of GO and have started hiring GO developers around the world and as Remote work gained huge popularity and demand most of the Go-adopted companies are using remote development to get maximum profit. For this reason, there are millions of GO developer jobs in the world. According to Golang.cafe the average median salary of a remote Go developer ranges from $94,000 to $140,000 per year.
On the other hand, Rust is gaining the attention of every other industry from military to aerospace agencies because of its ability to deliver faster and more secure solutions within a short period. IT giants such as Microsoft, Google and Meta have recognised its insanely secured functionalities and have started posting Rust developers jobs in a huge number across the globe. According to US labor statistics, the Rust development jobs are expected to grow by 20% by the end of 2030. This is a huge percentage as compared to Rust’s existence in IT practices, experts also say that covid is responsible for this boom to some extent as it imposed remote work policies. Considering the demand for Rust development salaries has also gained huge momentum, the average median salary of a remote Rust developer ranges from $120,000 to $145,000 per year.
Conclusion
Programming languages are the starting point of any development phase, although they are categorized differently they have only one goal and that is to develop effective software solutions for clients’ needs, from a mobile application, website to a server software everything is built by using these different programming languages.
Both Golang and Rust are open-source projects that have unique features for different use cases, both are equipped with exceptional capabilities that allow developers to introduce ease of development, high performance etc. Golang vs Rust, the comparison for which is the best language for you heavily depends upon your project, hence you can use the above information and decide what language is ideal for your development needs.
