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Go vs. Rust: all you need to know!

6 min read

Dec 14, 2023

content

What is Go?

Advantages of Go

Disadvantages of Go

What is Rust?

Advantages of Rust

Disadvantages of Rust

Difference between Go and Rust

Performance

Simplicity

Memory management & security

Concurrency

Wrapping Up

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Go or Rust? Which language is better? What are the benefits of each? And which one should you learn? While the two languages have their own uses, there are a lot of similarities between them as well. That’s why it’s safe to compare Go and Rust, and it’s also why you might need a little help figuring out which one to prioritize.

In this article, we’ll discuss all the similarities and differences between Gol vs. Rust so that you can better decide which one works best for you. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and explore these two languages.

What is Go?#

Go, also known as Golang, is an open-source programming language launched by Google in March 2012. Since then, it has become widely used among programmers and giant companies like Uber, Dropbox, and Google. Go is an easy-to-learn and straightforward language. Unlike C or C++, it was made with a limited feature set and designed for faster compilation.

Go’s standard library provides robust packages for networking, cryptography, and web development tasks, reducing the need for external dependencies. Additionally, Go’s compilation speed and efficient garbage collection make it suitable for building large-scale applications. With a growing community and continuous improvements, Go continues to evolve as a reliable choice for modern software development.

Advantages of Go #

Go is simple, straightforward, and easy to learn—thanks to its limited feature set.
Go uses goroutines, which are lightweight concurrent units of execution. Goroutines enable programmers to write concurrent code without explicitly managing threads, making the process much more efficient.
Go supports cross-platform development and is supported by Linux, MacOS, Windows binary, and also as a docker container.
Go works best with many application types, including cloud-native development, distributed network services, utilities, stand-alone tools, and more.
Go is portable, which means it’s available for various operating systems and hardware.

Disadvantages of Go#

Go’s dependency ecosystem is relatively smaller compared to established programming languages like Java, C, or Python. Although the standard library provides essential packages, the availability of third-party libraries and frameworks might be more limited.
Go supports static typing. And while static typing can be beneficial in some cases, it can also make writing code difficult, more time-consuming, and less flexible.
Go is still young and has a long way to go compared to other mature languages. It does not support generics, which can make the code less precise and lead to runtime errors.

package main
import "fmt"
func main() {
    // Print "Hello, World!" to the console
    fmt.Println("Hello, World!")
    
    // Variable declaration and assignment
    var x int = 5
    y := 10
    
    // Conditional statement
    if x > y {
        fmt.Println("x is greater than y")
    } else if x < y {
        fmt.Println("x is less than y")
    } else {
        fmt.Println("x is equal to y")
    }
    
    // Loop statement
    for i := 1; i <= 5; i++ {
        fmt.Println(i)
    }
    
    // Function call and result printing
    result := addNumbers(3, 7)
    fmt.Println("Result:", result)
}
// Function that adds two numbers and returns the sum
func addNumbers(a, b int) int {
    return a + b
}

What is Rust?#

Rust is a modern, open-source programming language launched by Mozilla in 2010. Rust is fast, straightforward, and memory-efficient, and it guarantees memory safety. When talking about Rust, we must appreciate the security the language provides. Rust enforces safety through its ownership system and extensive compile-time checks, which prevent common programming errors and ensure memory safety without sacrificing performance.

In Rust, we can’t write the wrong parallel code because the language doesn’t allow it. This significantly reduces the chances of errors. Rust also features a user-friendly compiler that allows programmers to debug code during compile time and saves the code from crashing. As a result, Rust is widely used to write efficient code that allows for the integration of computer hardware and software.

Advantages of Rust#

Rust is a scalable and concurrent language. That means it’s suitable for building heavy applications to meet the increasing demands of consumers in today’s world.
Rust ensures that memory accesses are always valid and prevents many memory safety vulnerabilities. Its ownership system and borrowing rules enable a strict compile-time that prevents common memory-related errors.
Rust is faster than other languages because it reduces data compilation time and provides better concurrency.
Rust enhances developers’ productivity by offering amazing features like pattern matching, iterators, and a powerful macro system.

Disadvantages of Rust#

Rust is relatively new to the programming world, which is why many limitations and gaps are yet to be addressed. For instance, the compilation time is long when working on larger and more complex projects.
The learning curve is high compared to other programming languages. In order to write code in Rust, you need to learn C++ or any other object-oriented programming language.
Although Rust’s ecosystem has been growing steadily, it may not be as extensive or mature as those of some other languages. Rust’s interoperability with C and other languages can help mitigate this limitation by allowing developers to leverage existing libraries.

fn main() {
    // Print "Hello, World!" to the console
    println!("Hello, World!");
    
    // Variable declaration and assignment
    let x: i32 = 5;
    let y = 10;
    
    // Conditional statement
    if x > y {
        println!("x is greater than y");
    } else if x < y {
        println!("x is less than y");
    } else {
        println!("x is equal to y");
    }
    
    // Loop statement
    for i in 1..=5 {
        println!("{}", i);
    }
    
    // Function definition
    let result = add_numbers(3, 7);
    println!("Result: {}", result);
}
// Function that adds two numbers and returns the sum
fn add_numbers(a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
    a + b
}

Difference between Go and Rust#

Now that we’ve discussed both languages in detail, it’s time to compare them and determine which one stands out. Let’s explore the differences.

Performance#

Both Go and Rust rely on compiled languages that translate code into machine language. On the one hand, Go is quick in compilation time but relatively slow at runtime speed. On the other hand, Rust is faster in terms of runtime speed, but its compilation time is rather slow. So, it’s safe to say that both languages have their own drawbacks.

Simplicity#

With its limited feature set, Go aims to be a straightforward and easy-to-learn language, making it quick for programmers to pick up. In contrast, Rust is not that easy to learn. In order to adequately grasp Rust, you need to have a basic understanding of an object-oriented programming language. Moreover, Rust’s syntax can be more complex due to its emphasis on memory management and ownership rules.

Memory management & security#

Go utilizes a garbage collector (GC) to automatically manage memory, relieving developers from manual memory allocation and deallocation. This simplifies memory management but also increases runtime overhead. In contrast, Rust employs both a unique ownership system and strict borrowing rules to achieve memory safety at compile time. Rust’s approach ensures that memory is managed efficiently without sacrificing performance, as it avoids the need for garbage collection.

Therefore, compared to Go, Rust provides more enhanced memory safety and security through an ownership system and compile-time checks.

Concurrency#

When it comes to concurrency, Go and Rust offer different approaches. Go features built-in support for lightweight concurrency with goroutines and channels. Meanwhile, Rust offers concurrency through its ownership and borrowing system, along with the async/await syntax. Rust’s concurrency model allows for fine-grained control over memory access, and it ensures thread safety by enforcing strict rules at compile time. Overall, Go provides a simpler and more intuitive concurrency model, while Rust emphasizes safety and control in concurrent programming.

Wrapping Up#

While both languages come with their own drawbacks and benefits, , Go and Rust share numerous similarities as well. Now that you’ve learned so much about both languages, it’s time to make an action plan for learning them.

Educative offers interactive courses for all developers and learners to help them excel in programming. If you’re new to Go and want to learn more about it, we offer a variety of courses to help you ace the Go Language. Similarly, if you’re interested in learning more about Rust, we suggest you Learn Rust to start your path in the right direction. Explore both languages and choose the best one for yourself.

Happy learning!

Written By:

Malaika Ijaz

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