alt Hacker News> This is not becoming the main focus of the project. We will continue developing the engine in C++, and porting subsystems to Rust will be a sidetrack that runs for a long time.
I don't like this bit. Wouldn't it be better to decide on a memory-safe language, and then commit to it by writing all new code in Rust, or whatever. This looks like doing double the work.
Replies
wvenable • today at 6:27 PM
One could do that but then they'd lose all momentum and the project would never get finished.
riku_iki • today at 6:23 PM
> Wouldn't it be better to decide on a memory-safe language,
it is totally possible to use some strict subset of C++, which will be memory safe.
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It doesn't have to all-or-nothing. Firefox has been a mixed C++ and Rust codebase for years now. It isn't like the code is written twice. The C++ components are written in C++, and the Rust components are written in Rust.
I suspect that'll also be what happens here. And if the use of Rust is successful, then over time more components may switch over to Rust. But each component will only ever be in one language at a time.