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7 min read

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Jun 1, 2024

Following the exponential growth of cryptocurrencies across the globe, many blockchain developers and project founders are fond of some programming languages. Blockchain projects like Solana and Polkadots run on Rust programming language. Originally developed at Mozilla, Rust is open-source and maintained by the Rust Foundation.

As a systems programming language, Rust is useful for writing systems software such as operating systems, search engines, game engines, etc.

However, Rust is also helpful in general-purpose application programming like building web applications.

While JavaScript and Python have been among the most widely used, many individuals have specific projects that endear them. With the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies going agog, some other programming languages are gaining momentum. It is therefore veritable to opt for one among the many programming languages to keep the interoperability node in reality and afloat.

Since the Rust Foundation released the programming language more than 11 years ago, many tech industry leaders have embraced the language. Ex CEO of Twitter (now X), Jack Dorsey, recently took to the Twitter platform complementing the Rust language as the best one. Amazon services built on Rust include Firecracker, a technology that’s the brain behind its Lambda server-less platform for containerized apps. Google has chosen not to be left behind among the big tech companies using Rust since it showed its support for the Rust programming language in low-level system code to curtail the prevalence of memory-based security.

Tocco, a Switzerland-based company, specializing in ERP software, has been using Rust as one of its core internal tools.

To better understand this concept of Rust and Solana, let’s first define Rust.

Rust is a statistically-typed programming language that emphasizes performance and safety.

Rust is considered a systems programming language due to its syntactic similarities with C++.

There are several dimensions to look out for in terms of what distinguishes Rust from other programming languages.

Regarding safety, when compared with dynamically typed languages, the Rust compiler ensures you are not mixing data types for variables leading to unforeseen circumstances or events.

In addition, Rust also eradicates the null pointer errors at runtime.

Looking at Rust from a second angle, the Garbage collection perspective shows that many programming languages have obvious garbage collection mechanisms. However, programming languages such as C++ do not. Rust also does not have a garbage collection; rather, the developers have total control of even the smallest of details like storing data on the Stack. Rust is the most suitable for building libraries for other programming languages, and it is not surprising why there’s a connection between Solana and Rust.

Technically, you could replace performance-critical software parts with a high-performance Rust code.

The third dimension that distinguishes Rust is that while system programming languages ensure efficient memory usage, Rust uses the concept of ownership and borrow checker as a bridge between garbage collection and complete manual control of memory. Rust is gaining traction by the day on the blockchain. For instance, In 2022, more developers are building dApps for web3 applications in gaming, NFTs, Metaverse, and DeFi using Rust programming language. So Rust is not just jejune to solving problems in web 3.0 space, nor is it only applied in Solana.

This part of Rust in web 3.0 is vital, especially if you consider Solana a core competitor to Ethereum’s dominance.

Rust exceptionally positions itself to be the programming language to conquer the development language for Ethereum dApps and Solidity.

Of course, Rust language is formidable and veritable in Web 3.0 with many use cases.

For instance, while a considerable number of front-end development in Web 3.0 technology is related to Web 2.0, Rust seems to be attracting a lot of developers to the web 3.0 space and could become a key technology for the future of Web 3.0.

Solana and Rust work hand in hand, so it is crucial to bolster a synergy between both Solana and Rust. First, What is Solana?

As a fast and low-cost blockchain solution, Solana has a slightly different programming model. Solana uses Rust programming language to create programs. Naming concepts are different in Solana with intelligent contracts known as Solana Programs.

Solana Programs are stateless, so you need to use an account to store the state.

Rust is a programming language that’s very popular with developers — perhaps most notably, Rust remains “the most-loved developer language” on Stack Overflow for the sixth year.

It is important to note that you need to pay rent regularly to store data on the Solana blockchain, and the data requires the account to be exempted from rent if it’s balanced higher than some threshold that depends on its consumption space.

Solana and Rust team up as a scalable solution for developers; this is possible since Solana ensures composability between projects by maintaining a single global state as the network scales.

Solana’s scalability validates Rust as a formidable and trusted programming language as it ensures transactions remain less than $0.01 for stakeholders.

Also, Solana, as an ultra-fast and low-cost network, ensures censorship-resistant. Making transactions safe, thus confirming Rust as a veritable programming language and helping users understand what Rust is, the benefits that accrue from Rust as a programming language, and the nexus between Solana and Rust.

Having understood what Solana and Rust entail, you may want to learn further how to build a Solana token dashboard, or you may wish to swiftly understand how to create a Solana token in 5 steps.

Rust is budget-friendly as it helps build low-level applications using C or C++ languages.

Rust plays a pertinent role in building Command-Line Interfaces (CLI) programs. Interestingly,

You can apply Rust in writing web-assembly code, a low-level language with a compact binary format that runs with near-native performance.

Rust has the capability of building a robust backend service with Rust frameworks such as Actix and Rocket. With Rust, spinning up a backend service thus becomes easy.

Lastly, Rust is useful for blockchain development, particularly the Solana blockchain, and this will form a significant focus of this article.

The core component that constitutes Rust, making it a helpful tool and perfect combo between Solana and Rust, includes the following;

First, rustup a command-line tool that manages Rust versions and associated agencies. Rust supports many platforms, so there are many builds available at any given time. Rust is responsible for managing these builds, which is vital in comprehending what Rust is.

The second component is the Rust compiler, which is responsible for taking source code and producing binary code.

The third and vital component is Cargo. Cargo describes the Rust package manager.

Cargo compiles various packages, generates distributable packages, and uploads them to Crates.

Crates are the Rust community registry, similar to NPM for NodeJS.

Cargo manages our source code in most applications, so we don’t necessarily use the Rust compiler directly. But Cargo usually uses rustc to perform its function.

It is important to note that Solidity and the EVM ecosystem aren’t up to par with other development environments like web or mobile development. Besides, developers who are well-versed in Solidity programming are rare. So the tooling support for essentials might be non-existent. Some Solidity developers still shoot themselves in the feet with a wide array of novels and foot guns.

The future of smart contracts lies with Rust. Rust is still a young and viable programming language, but the tooling support is years ahead of Solidity. It has a code formatter, integrated test, and benchmark runner with syntax that highlights in every text editor.

Rust code is more ergonomic and easier than Solidity.

In addition, Rust data structures are more compact than C in most cases since the compiler reorders struct fields to make each type as small as possible.

Rust code is your go-to coding language if you’re a developer and concerned about ergonomics and ease of use.

Solana is a novel platform and has not tested the security of its contract.

Solana is keen on acquiring popularity, which draws an increasing number of hackers.

An audit can verify that your contract adheres to the best security practices.

Investors place closer attention on contracts that a credible and trustworthy team has audited.

Rust will continue to evolve and grow since more and more companies are adopting the programming language, thus, improving the overall ecosystem. It is worthy of note to spend quality time learning the Rust programming language with Moralis, the ultimate web 3.0 development platform poised to help developers save time and money by developing scalable and robust Dapps.

Being a great programmer is a prerequisite to becoming a good Rust programmer. Many blockchain companies like Moralis hiring Rust developers will be more than happy to hire anyone who knows Rust well. Most young people perceive blockchain to be one of the most exciting opportunities for developers. Although, as a field still in its infancy, there is much potential for dedicated and passionate developers to scale and become even more creative in a revolutionary space.

Since Rust is well-liked and most sought after, it is customary to think of Rust as a promising future. Anyone who embarks on this journey will have a swell time. So for those interested in that journey, becoming proficient in Rust may be the ideal way to go. Moralis is the best platform to begin the journey. Moralis Academy helps developers master web 3.0, especially those interested in Solana and Rust or who would want to understand Rust and what the Rust programming language entails.