‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

Topcoat is pushing the boundary of server applications with Rust

113 points · 100 comments · sagacity

  1. aslkalska · · focus · HN ↗
    Honestly Rust is an ugly looking language, I mean it's probably okay if you're coming from C or C++ but if you're coming from say Java, it's horrendous. but then again that probably does not matter at all.
    1. throwawayqqq11 · · focus · HN ↗
      Just like any other language, you can get used to it. There are ways to hide the uglyness and i am not sure if this is a good thing. (i will always hate macros!)
    2. cogman10 · · focus · HN ↗
      I come from Java, I disagree.

      The majority of rust's ugliness is the fact that it's handling a different problem than Java does. Java relies heavily on a GC to simplify. Rust does not.

      I think the only thing that I find ugly in rust is that memory leaks are considered memory safe. [1]

      That, unfortunately, means that you can't 100% rely on the language to not leak memory. Though, it's possible to leak memory in Java as well (Use `Deflate` incorrectly and you'll quickly find a hard to catch memory leak).

      [1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;brson.github.io&#x2F;rust-anthology&#x2F;1&#x2F;memory-leaks-are-memory-safe.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;brson.github.io&#x2F;rust-anthology&#x2F;1&#x2F;memory-leaks-are-me...

      1. yencabulator · · focus · HN ↗
        &gt; you can&#x27;t 100% rely on the language to not leak memory

        Start a thread with an infinite loop, you&#x27;ve just leaked some memory.

        The language just can&#x27;t prevent you.

    3. Mabusto · · focus · HN ↗
      I thought the same thing. I started working full time in Rust back in March and the first few weeks I thought “this is ridiculous, it’s so ugly and hard to read”. My background is in C++ for game development (10y) followed by CTO of a web startup (JS&#x2F;Python&#x2F;TypeScript), so I know ugly code!

      You absolutely do get used to it and I really like the built in formatters. I would write everything in Rust going forward if I could, it really is a different way of thinking about how to write code. I don’t agree it’s the right tool for every job though.

      1. skrtskrt · · focus · HN ↗
        The built-in formatter drives me insane it&#x27;s always choosing or not choosing to line break in places that make zero semantic sense.
Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.