Why Zig Feels More Practical Than Rust
6 hours ago
- #CLI Tools
- #Zig
- #Rust
- Zig is considered more practical than Rust for CLI tools due to its simplicity and manual memory management.
- Rust's borrow checker enforces memory safety at compile time but adds complexity and cognitive overhead.
- Memory safety is just one aspect of software safety; predictable behavior, robustness, and performance are also crucial.
- Zig provides manual memory management with allocators and defer statements, offering control without the complexity of Rust's borrow checker.
- Developer ergonomics in Zig are better for small CLI tools, making it easier to write and reason about code.
- Rust excels in large, multithreaded systems where compile-time guarantees are essential.
- Zig treats developers as capable adults, while Rust's strict rules can feel restrictive for simple projects.