Rust’s Expanding Horizons: Memory Safe and Lightning Fast
The Rust programming language continues to be one of the top 15 programming languages and has been the most admired language among developers for nine consecutive years, according to various studies.
In an interview highlighting the Rust language’s growing importance in the programming world, Joel Marcey, director of technology at the Rust Foundation, discussed some of the various initiatives to improve its security, performance and adoption across different domains.
Marcey has had a varied career in software engineering, including roles at Intel, Microsoft, and Facebook (now Meta), before joining the Rust Foundation. In this episode of The New Stack Makers podcast, which I hosted, I asked him about issues such as Rust’s expanding use cases. He noted that while Rust is known for systems and backend programming, it’s gaining traction in embedded systems, safety-critical applications, game development and even the Linux kernel.
This podcast was recorded on the heels of the RustConf 2024 conference, held in Montreal in September. Marcey’s key takeaway from the event was that “the Rust community is as motivated and vibrant as ever to see Rust continue to grow and succeed as a broad, first-class programming language for developers.”
A Safe and Fast Language
Rust is a really safe and fast systems language, Marcey said. And you can use Rust on the web with a WebAssembly (Wasm) backend. Wasm allows Rust to be used in web applications, though adoption is still in the early stages.
Meanwhile, Marcey addressed the Rust versus Go conundrum, stating that while both languages focus on memory safety and efficiency, Rust may have an edge in performance-critical applications.
“There are many similarities between the two languages, which allows for either one to be the right choice, given your use case,” Marcey said. “So I think you can consider both general-purpose programming languages that focus on memory safety and produce really efficient code. But if you want to speak in terms of Rust, if you care about eking out every last bit of performance and speed, and you know that speed of execution matters above anything else, you may want to give it a look.”
Recent Developments
Moreover, Marcey discussed recent Rust developments, including Rust 1.81, which introduced new sort implementations. He also discussed some of the project goals for 2024, which include a new edition, async improvements and enhancing Rust for Linux.
The podcast also looks at government adoption of Rust, including how the U.S. federal government is considering Rust, with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announcing an initiative to translate C code to Rust – known as Translating All C to Rust TRACTOR.
Also, Marcey talked about Rust-C++ interoperability: Google has funded a project that aims to improve interoperability between Rust and C++.
The conversation also covered the Rust Security Initiative, which aims to maintain Rust as one of the most secure development platforms, with projects like Painter and Typomania addressing ecosystem security. Macey also mentioned the Safety-Critical Rust Consortium, a new group dedicated to the responsible use of Rust in critical and safety-critical software.
Check out the full episode for more insight about Rust.
