Re:Getting started with C
by nicoburns on Thursday December 17, 2020 @07:15AM
(#25454890)
> Is there anyone who learns Rust who isn't already a proficient but frustrated C++ programmer?
Yes, I learnt Rust as a JavaScript/PHP/Python programmer who needed better performance for a project, and I'd thoroughly recommend it as a first low-level language. I found it much easier to learn than C++. There were a few new concepts to learn, but:
- There were far fewer than C++.
- The Rust Book provided a free and very approachable resource for learning them.
- The Rust compiler gave me immediate feedback if I was doing something wrong (no unexpected bugs in production)
- Most of my JS skills translated pretty straightforwardly
- /r/rust has a very helpful community which filled in any gaps that weren't covered elsewhere.
C is simple when you're working with toy examples, but as soon as you try to do anything moderately complex the complexity quickly jumps. e.g. If I wan't to use something as basic as a HashMap this is a trivial import in Rust or C++, but a non-trivial task in C. You either have to build/import a library (which is not that easy in C), or write one yourself! Same for string operations!
Yes, I learnt Rust as a JavaScript/PHP/Python programmer who needed better performance for a project, and I'd thoroughly recommend it as a first low-level language. I found it much easier to learn than C++. There were a few new concepts to learn, but:
- There were far fewer than C++.
- The Rust Book provided a free and very approachable resource for learning them.
- The Rust compiler gave me immediate feedback if I was doing something wrong (no unexpected bugs in production)
- Most of my JS skills translated pretty straightforwardly
- /r/rust has a very helpful community which filled in any gaps that weren't covered elsewhere.
C is simple when you're working with toy examples, but as soon as you try to do anything moderately complex the complexity quickly jumps. e.g. If I wan't to use something as basic as a HashMap this is a trivial import in Rust or C++, but a non-trivial task in C. You either have to build/import a library (which is not that easy in C), or write one yourself! Same for string operations!