Rust will be the Constant in your Life (5/5)
If one person at Tweede golf is a Rustacean, it’s definitely Wouter. Whether it’s about web, embedded, or even games: he tried it. And probably not just tried it, but prototyped, created, documented, presented, and nailed it. Just take a look at Wouter’s GitHub page[1]. He’s also engaged in the Rust community as an organizer of RustFest, member of the Dutch Rust foundation, and as maintainer of several open-source crates. He believes that Rust is well on its way to perfection.
This is part 5 of 5 of our series "Why we love Rust". Check out the complete series here
What’s your personal reason for using Rust?
I’ve always done a lot of C++ and functional programming languages. A programming language that combines the efficiency and memory move semantics of C++11 with the deconstruction of strongly typed objects is revolutionary.
Wouter's takeaway
Try to write your program in one go without running it. When it’s done, run it for the first time and be amazed.
What Rust project are you working on right now?
A real-time platform for embedded systems. Rust’s memory- and type safety is excellent for this kind of project. Although Rust’s efficiency can still be improved, it is one of the few languages that are even in the ballpark of being able to run on embedded devices. Rust has the potential for a feasible hardware abstraction layer and driver ecosystem. C++ simply failed at this.
Ok, I think we’ve made clear that you like Rust, but is it actually your “most loved language”?
Professionally: Absolutely! However, in my opinion, the award for the most beautiful language should go to Clean. A functional programming language by Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. Only the template language of C++ comes close in terms of what you can express. When Rust stabilizes the complete const_generics it can finally compete and then it will probably be my overall “most loved language”.
Where will Rust be in 5 years?
Rust is slowly but surely being made suitable for the aerospace and automotive industries. On the web, more and more parts are made in Rust through webassembly. In 5 years Rust will be everywhere: as a computer game, on your phone, on pacemakers, in your car, on satellites and everywhere on the internet.
More by Wouter
This was the final part of our series "Why we love Rust". To keep up to date with our Rust endeavors, follow us on LinkedIn