Re:Switching to C over 'Modern' Programming Languages
by jacquesm on Thursday April 13, 2023 @04:59AM
(#35552790)
I think the main mistake that the Rust people made in their initial promotion of the language was to position it as 'a replacement for C'. No programming language has ever replaced another completely, it always ended up as just another language with its own trade offs and quirks. This even holds within a single language eco system if it isn't managed carefully, Python comes to mind.
Given that this has been an argument for 3 decades or so, e.g. compared to C++ especially, I don't think so.
Even more so since C is not just some trendy language you pick up quickly, but needs quite a lot of time and effort to be profficcient in, to the point of appreciating its simplicity and portability/stability/etc benefits.
>Rust exists for a reason, and it solves specific problems.
Rust exists because its creators had a reason such a language was needed in mind. Doesn't mean others necessarily share it, or if they do, that they see Rust as the solution to the problem behind that reason.