Go vs Rust: Which Programming Language You Must Choose?

You have read about various programming languages, some old and some very new. In the recent past, two new languages are getting very popular and those are Go and Rust.

Golang was first announced in November 2009 while Rust was announced in July 2010. In this blog, you will learn about these two languages, their merits, and demerits, and the difference between them (Go vs Rust).

What is Golang?

The Go programming language is statically typed and compiled, and is frequently referred to as “Golang.” The language was created by Google developers as a challenger to C++ and is based on C.

Due to its straightforward syntax, Golang is also compared to Python. It allows concurrency, which greatly increases the likelihood that parallel systems will be built effectively. Go is used by a number of businesses, including Google, Uber, Twitch, Dailymotion, and Dropbox.

Merits of Golang

• Golang is easy to use due to its simple syntax.
• It provides excellent compatibility with the C language.
• It offers good documentation that one can refer to in case of queries.
• The language’s integrated testing tool and its simplicity of API are both highly regarded by developers. Its effectiveness makes it simple to profile and test executable codes.
• If you are able to ignore Go’s intermediary assembly, Go can immediately compile code to machine code since it lacks a virtual machine. This accelerates the execution considerably. You may cross-platform compile for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, and Android.

Demerits of Golang

• Because the language is so new, it could be challenging for developers to utilize the libraries to their full potential.
• Go’s error handling isn’t perfect, and it could work against you. The quest for solutions is still ongoing, and ideas for handling errors have emerged.
• The programming language lacks the support of generics.
• The absence of manual memory management could result in garbage collection overhead, problems like pauses, and eventually system programming.

What is Rust?

Rust is an open-source, multi-paradigm systems programming language that is known for its emphasis on concurrent safety.

Rust comes with an easy-to-use compiler and high-end tools like integrated package management and multi-editors with capabilities like type inspection and auto-completion.

A developer can create software more quickly and reliably by using the Rust programming language.

Merits of Rust

• It offers rapid testing and troubleshooting.
• Rust provides rich patterns and syntax with no extra charge for abstraction.
• It exhibits consistent runtime behavior.
• Languages like C and C++ are unable to efficiently resolve memory problems and concurrent programs, whereas Rust can.
• It offers better error handling in comparison to Go.

Demerits of Rust

• Rust takes time in the compilation of code.
• The rate of code development is not as quick as with some of its rivals.
• In general, being stringent in programming is a good thing, but Rust can occasionally be overly strict. When you’re using it to program, it’s incredibly difficult to slack. Your program will launch only when everything is correct.

Go vs Rust: Differences Between Go and Rust

After going through the introductions to Golang and Rust, in this section, you will learn the difference between the two programming languages.

Rust vs Go: A Comparison Table
Go	Rust
Go, despite being straightforward, surpasses a number of popular programming languages in terms of build speed. Its compilation speed is fast. However, in exchange for that, it must sacrifice runtime performance.	Due to its excellent runtime performance (but slow compilation time), Rust outperforms Go in terms of output delivery.
The language is really straightforward and simple to understand.	It takes a little while to comprehend the Rust language.
Golang automates runtime memory management so that developers can avoid worrying about allocating or deleting memory.	Developers must pay attention and be alert to memory allocation because the code won’t be compiled unless it is memory safe.
Compared to Rust, Go lags behind in functionality.	Rust language has a lot more features and capabilities.
Concurrency is supported by the Go language, which increases the likelihood of developing parallel systems successfully.	Due to its lack of concurrency, the Rust programming language is less used when creating parallel systems.

In the next section, we will go through when to use Go and when to choose Rust.

When to Choose Go?

Concurrent programming is supported by most programming languages, but Go is particularly well-suited for the task. Go provides support for a wide variety of projects. Because its goroutines can manage numerous concurrent, independent requests, Go is best suited for server-side applications, backend web development, databases, and network programming.

It also has formal compatibility with the Google Cloud Platform, making cloud computing possible. To create web APIs, Go is an excellent alternative to Node.js.

Go also has built-in support for the HTTP web protocol, enabling programmers to create APIs and execute them as microservices. Other suitable scenarios to use Go are:

• When a developer wants to write simple and clear syntax then this language should be preferred.
• When you work with a lot of data that is concurrent then Go should be the developer’s first choice.
• Also, when it comes to speed then this language can prove its worth due to its faster execution speed.
• Custom scripts, quick tasks, and CLIs should be written in Golang.

When to Choose Rust?

Rust is ideal for managing system resources to improve performance when processing massive amounts of data and performing other CPU-intensive tasks like running algorithms.

Although Rust’s superior memory safety measures guarantee bug identification, they do significantly slow down compilation speed.

Rather than being a drawback, it ensures that programmers won’t run into memory safety vulnerabilities because the compiler compiles and verifies each data pointer.

Rust will always be preferred by programmers who value a quick runtime. Rust should be used in the following scenarios:

• It should be chosen when runtime speed is preferred over compilation speed.
• Longer development times aren’t a major concern.
• When developers want to work with algorithm execution and memory safety features.
• Choose Rust when hardware-level code is your priority.
• For complicated tasks and big code bases, use Rust.

Conclusion

Both Go and Rust have several features in common. Both of these newly introduced languages have concurrency and memory safety built-in. Also, both are excellent languages that cater to various use cases.

The goals and requirements of the project will determine whether Rust or Go is the best choice. We have covered the differences and pros and cons of both languages here. Hope this blog will help you in choosing the most suitable programming language among the two options; Rust and Go.