Rust

Rust is a systems language that packs speed, memory safety, and predictable behavior into one. Precisely therefore it works so well for backend services, tooling, and anything that asks for low latency and high reliability.

Very fast, without runtime overhead you do not need.
The compiler already catches most errors during the build.
Perfect for services, tooling, and that kind of critical components.

Why Rust stands out

Developing at speed versus developing for maximum efficiency regarding runtime performance and memory usage are often mutually exclusive when using multiple languages. Rust sits somewhere in the middle; it can be very restrictive with regards to how much freedom developers have during the coding process however by enforcing strong discipline on developers it will help developers identify issues/risks in their code before they reach production so as to avoid costly errors once in production.

The reason why Rust can be used in the software area where it's absolutely imperative that there are no issues with reliability at all, lies exactly within those areas where large amounts of data are processed, integrations need to operate without interruption throughout the entire day, or tools will need to interact directly with your infrastructure and Glossary · In briefdeploymentA deployment is the process of installing and starting a chosen software version in a target environment so it can be tested or used there.Read more. These types of environments may lead to surprises such as Glossary · In briefmemory leakA memory leak is a software bug in which a program retains memory it no longer uses. Memory usage can keep growing while the program runs.Read more, Glossary · In briefrace conditionA race condition is a software bug in which the outcome depends on the order or timing of actions that can happen concurrently. The same input can produce different results.Read more, and wasted CPU usage. In this environment, the probability of these risks occurring is much lower.

Strong for mission critical software

In many ways memory safety in Rust is enforced by a lack of a garbage collector. The impact of this approach is fairly simple: Less run time worry, tighter control over performance, and much more consistent results for your application while it's under load. When you're writing an application where there are so many factors to consider; that can be quite valuable.

And it is very suited to Glossary · In briefcomponentA component is a distinct part of software with its own task and a clear way of interacting with other parts.Read more that should stay small, need to start very quickly, or want to do a lot of work with scarce resources. Interesting then for Glossary · In briefAPIAn API is a defined way for software to exchange data or call functions in other software without needing to know how that software works internally.Read more services, queue workers, command-line tooling, and any other Glossary · In briefbackendThe backend is the part of an application that processes data, applies business rules and communicates with other systems on the server. Users usually access it through a frontend or API.Read more part where efficiency is truly no side note.

When we use Rust, and when we do not

While Rust certainly isn't suitable immediately to all projects, there will be an endless number of Web application scenarios that are better suited by using languages like TypeScript, Python, or Node.js. In general you'll be building quicker than if performance was your primary constraint; additionally you'll likely have much more opportunity to leverage other people's work (Glossary · In brieflibraryA library is a collection of reusable software code for a defined task. An application can call that code to use existing functionality.Read more) to improve your development speed.

We typically see Rust primarily as an intentional selection. It is certainly not intended as a general purpose programming standard for all platforms; however it can serve as a specific programming language for those applications that require raw performance, strong concurrency, or high levels of reliability. That being said, we believe this approach works well when combined with other tools and programming languages. There are many applications that will benefit from serious improvements in terms of performance by using Rust as part of their overall application architecture, rather than requiring them to rewrite their entire application in Rust.

Rust in a mixed stack

At 10KB we always place technology in its environment. If a team has experience with either TypeScript, Python or another cloud stack, then Rust doesn't have to compete at all. It can specifically fit in as a perfect additional piece of that particular component which screams out for higher performance, more robust safety, or just less cost in operation. So you can keep your big code base practical, but you get rid of your risk-spots robustly.

Key takeaways

Rust thrives on performance-critical backends and tooling.
The compiler forces errors out early, well before you hit production.
Memory safety without a classic garbage collector grants a lot of control.
Rust never needs to claim a whole stack to be valuable.
For many ordinary web projects other languages turn out more pragmatic.