Choosing Rust is a statement against everything wrong with software quality

2024-04-26

I'm sure that the people who built Rust just wanted a better tool, something to scratch their itches. But considering that

  1. Rust is the most admired (& one of the most desired) programming languages today [1], and has been for many years [2].
  2. Rust is very far from being one of the most used languages. [3] [4] [5]
it's apparent that most people don't use it as a tool, but as something to aspire to.

They are not happy with how things are, and Rust promises a solution: programs that don't crash, far fewer bugs, things done correctly the first time.

They could pick, say, Golang -- it's fast, it's easier to use, it's faster to compile. But Rust puts quality and correctness first. The community of people who use Rust value them. The language and ecosystem reflect that.

So they pick Rust. Not because it's the "best tool for the job", but as an expression of what they themselves value: software done right, more than software done quickly.