> Then there's the issue (some might argue it's a plus) that Rust is at the same time a language, a lib, and the only compiler implementation
This was essentially the case for C and C++ as well for somewhere around 5-15 years a piece, depending on how you measure it.
Maybe I should have expressed it better, but I didn't intend to lump these together.
>And don't look now but lots of stuff is being rewritten in Rust.
I'm myself cautiously optimistic re Rust, but having been burnt by C++ in the past I'm not enthusiastic about fighting language idiosyncrasies (though modern C++ certainly deserves a second look). Then there's the issue (some might argue it's a plus) that Rust is at the same time a language, a lib, and the only compiler implementation (unlike C or C++ which give you choice).