Difference between C++ and rust

What is rust?

Rust is a computer language created in 2010 by Mozilla with a primary focus on efficiency and safety, particularly safe concurrency. Although the Rust programming language resembles C++, it offers memory safety without the use of garbage collection. It aims to outperform the C++ programming language in terms of performance and safety.

What is C++?

A language for object-oriented programming is C++. It was created in 1985 by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup. It is a better-concept addition to the C programming language, thus its other name, "C with Classes." Given that it is an object-oriented programming language and that we can create program using it quickly thanks to the STL library of methods, C++ is a great programming language (Standard Template Library).

Use Patterns for C++ and Rust

Even though this essay compares Rust and C++, it is still important to understand how both programming languages are often used.

• Executing applications on limited hardware commonly referred to as embedded devices.
• Kernel driver creation
• Constructing libraries that may be used with other languages
• Backend programming
• Game creation

Rust versus C++ Comparison from a Technical Perspective

Storage Security

Memory safety was initially not a component of the C++ programming language since features like garbage collection can make the program run more slowly. The manual memory management tools are eliminated and new features like RAII (Resource Acquisition is Initialization) are added to C++ following a recent upgrade, yet the problems with memory safety are still there.

Contrarily, Rust employs its ownership structure to address this problem, improving memory safety. This is as a result of the manual memory management processes being abolished. C++ lacks built-in management process functions, but Rust has.

Rust's versus C++'s compile time

It depends on how many templates we have implemented in the C++ project even if the build times for C++ and Rust are practically the same (the more templates, the more will compile time). Yet in terms of performance at compile time, C++ typically outperforms. The compiler for Rust has a lot of helpful features that generate error warnings and is highly user-friendly.

Pointers and Addresses

An item that stores the memory address of another object is known as a pointer. Pointer functionality is present in the majority of high-level and low-level languages.

The shared ptr and unique ptr are provided by C++ and can be used and handled like smart pointers. Many smart pointers are also available in the Rust standard library. Hence, smart pointers are used by both Rust and C++, which has several benefits for both as programming languages.

Programming that is object-oriented

The major benefit C++ has over Rust is that it is an object-oriented programming language, which is something we already know. Rust is not. Being an object-oriented language, C++ offers several features such as classes, objects, templates, inheritance, polymorphism, etc.

Concurrency

The concurrency capabilities in the Rust Programming standard library, such as atomics, threads, condition variables, mutexes, etc., are almost identical to those in the C++ 11 version. The C++ 14, C++ 17, and C++ 20 versions, which came following the C++ 11 version, added several additional concurrency-related capabilities.

Platform and Compiler Support

Both C++ and Rust support a wide range of platforms, including Linux, Mac, and both the 32- and 64-bit Windows architectures. But, we have more C++ compilers than there are for Rust. Contrary to Rust, C++ is a more popular programming language; hence compiler defects and glitches are typically reported and addressed promptly.

External Libraries

Rust and C++ both have top-notch frameworks and libraries. Many frameworks in Rust, including Rocket, Nickel, Azul, and others, provide robust, functional, and safe programming. The Standard Template Library (STL), which is a collection of numerous helpful classes and methods, is the well-known library of C++. It offers several containers that may be used directly as data structures, functions that provide these containers various capabilities and manipulation, generic strings, streams, and support for other languages.

Handling of packages and tooling

Cargo, the official package manager for Rust, is comparable to the Python and JavaScript package managers. Conan, for example, is one of the top package managers for C++. Using the Cargo is simpler than using the Conan.

Assistance with Game Development

Nowadays, C++ is the most popular language for game creation and is used to create the majority of games available for purchase. The most popular foundation for game development, C++, is also employed in the creation of the Unreal Engine. Rust offers a platform for game creation as well, and it has strong frameworks much like C++. Rust allows us to create games, but it will take considerably longer than C++. Hence, to sum up, we can say that C++ is preferable to Rust for game development.

Framework Support

Several helpful frameworks, such Rocket (a web framework that offers greater security, performance, and flexibility), Nickel (a framework that provides approachable information flow control systems), and Azul, are available in the popular programming language Rust (A GUI framework used to develop desktop applications).

The STL (Standard Template Library), on the other hand, is a robust library in C++ that features a large number of built-in functions.

Rust versus C++ Comparison from a Non-Technical Point of View

Performance Standards

Because C++ and Rust are both low-level programming languages, the applications created with them run quickly and efficiently. None of them are dependent on the trash hauler. The important thing to remember is that Rust code needs some particular optimization. Safe controls like smart pointers can be used in C++, while Rust uses a binding syntax instead.

Community Assistance

Both languages have extremely strong community backing; Rust has the Rust Foundation, whereas C++ has the C++ ISO Committee. Both languages have vibrant communities. But, there are a lot more StackOverflow contributors, open-source projects, and communities for C++. This is due to the fact that C++ is an older language than Rust.

Learning curve and development rate

Both C++ and Rust are difficult for novices to master. Nonetheless, most people find the fundamental grammar of C++ to be simpler to learn if they are already familiar with C, Java, or C#. On the other hand, most novices to Rust struggle with the ownership concept and OOPs implementation. Understanding Rust's syntax, according to Rust programmers, has sped up their development pace since Rust's ownership model offers so many capabilities. But, C++'s ownership paradigm offers shared_ptr and unique_ptr.

What issues does C++ not address that Rust does?

Rust succeeds where C++ failed by being utilized in hardware development, augmented reality, virtual reality, IoT applications, and other fields. Moreover, Rust is doing better in device-based or embedded development. It is ideal for creating low-level software, such as kernels for operating systems, microcontroller drivers, and system utilities.

When Will C++ Remain the Winner?

Even though C++ is more than 35 years old, it still outperforms competing languages in several areas.

• As compared to other languages, existing code bases have more existing products.
• Compilation takes considerably less time.
• The area where this language excels is in game development.
• There are several compilers for C++, including GCC, Clang, Cfront, MinGW, LLVM, and many others.
• The STL, or Standard Template Library, is highly extensive in C++.

Myths about C++ and Rust

• Math in C++ is more secure than in Rust.
• Rust has exactly one benefit: object lifetime analysis.
• Rust is slower than C++.
• There is no proof of Rust's safety.
• C libraries won't benefit from Rust.

How can I change between C++ and Rust?

Due to the CXX library's assistance in calling C++ code from both Rust and C++, as well as its effectiveness and safety, moving between the two programming languages is made simple. The manual creation of Rust-C and C-C++ interfaces made Rust-C++ integration highly challenging and cumbersome prior to the advent of the CXX library.

Conclusion

Both C++ and Rust are fantastic candidates for the projects and have a lot of promise. Both have excellent tools, performance, and community support. However with the following, we can draw a close to our comparison of Rust and C++.

• Memory safety is better in Rust.
• In terms of compilation time and pointers, C++ is superior.
• While C++ has superior libraries to Rust, Rust has greater support for frameworks.
• C++ is superior for game development and object-oriented programming.
• Each have a sizable platform and community.
• Rust and C++ transitions are made simple via the CXX library.