SCALA VS RUST
If you are interested in web development, big data processing, machine learning, text processing, and server-side programming, you should learn Scala.
Scala is a strong statically typed general-purpose programming language, it supports both object-oriented programming and functional programming. Scala was designed to address most of the criticism of Java.
On the other hand, if you are interested in building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, webAssembly, or systems programming, you should learn Rust.
Rust is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language that emphasizes performance, type safety, and concurrency.
Comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn can be tricky, there are many factors to consider in order to choose the right programming language for the job you want to do.
Popularity, opportunities, types of projects, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn.
Here are some of the comparisons and considerations you should make when choosing to learn a new programming language.
SCALA VS RUST POPULARITY
Comparing the popularity of programming languages is not an easy task because each programming language is different and they all seek to solve different problems.
Plus, other programming languages have been around for a longer time than others, giving them more time to be tried and tested, so, bear that in mind.
If you want to learn a programming language solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn Rust over Scala.
Generally, Rust is more popular than Scala. The TIOBE index 2023 ranks Rust as the 19th most popular programming language while Scala is ranked as the 38th most popular programming language.
According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2022, Rust is the 15th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 8.80% of professional developers.
On the other hand, Scala is the 26th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 2.97% of professional developers according to the same survey.
Further, Rust is more loved by developers than Scala. Rust has been the most loved programming language for seven years straight.
As of 2022, Rust is loved by 86.73% of developers versus 13.27% of developers who dreaded it. On the other hand, Scala is loved by 50.30% of developers versus 49.70% of developers who dreaded it.
Ultimately, if your choice of which programming language to learn depends on popularity, you should learn Rust.
SCALA VS RUST SALARY
Another popular criterion that many people use to compare programming languages and as an incentive to learn a new programming language is salary.
Salaries for developers differ from one company to the other and from one country to the other.
Experience is another factor that comes into play as far as salaries are concerned. The more experience you have with a certain technology or programming language, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.
Generally, Scala developers get higher salaries than Rust developers. According to a Stack Overflow survey of top-paying programming languages, Scala developers get an average salary of $92,780 per year.
On the other hand, Rust developers get an average salary of $87,047 per year about $5,000 less than Scala developers.
Glassdoor reported that in the United States, Scala developers with 1 – 3 years of experience get an estimated total pay of $132,413 per year.
On the other hand, Rust developers with 1 – 3 years of experience get an estimated total pay of $98,610 per year.
So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a language, you should learn Scala over Rust, because you are more likely to get a higher salary as a Scala developer than as a Rust developer.
SCALA VS RUST WHICH ONE IS EASIER
Both Scala and Rust are relatively easy languages to work with, they both have an easy-to-understand syntax that is also simple to write.
If you are coming from a Java or Kotlin background, you will find Scala very easy to work with. If you are a complete beginner, Scala will be a little bit easier than Rust.
Rust can be quite challenging, especially for complete beginners. Some Rust concepts like ownership and borrowing add a little bit of complexity to the language.
But if you are familiar with systems programming, you will find Rust very easy and straightforward.
Especially when you are targeting low-resource devices, Rust will give you low-level control without giving up high-level conveniences, this makes it a little bit easy to work on systems.
The good news is that there are plenty of helpful resources for both Rust and Scala to help you learn the languages.
The Rust and Scala communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
SCALA VS RUST PERFORMANCE
If you plan on working on applications where top-notch performance is critical, you should learn Rust over Scala. Rust is a high-performance language, it emphasizes performance, type safety, and concurrency.
Rust has great and unique features that give it great performance and makes it suitable for building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, and more. One of the best features of Rust is how it handles memory.
While developers have to manually handle memory management in languages like C++ or use a garbage collector with languages like Scala, Go, Java, C#, Kotlin, etc. Rust takes a unique approach;
Developers can still handle memory without shooting themselves in the foot with a concept of ownership and borrowing. This makes it easy and quick to build reliable and efficient software.
Since Rust does not perform garbage collection, it is often faster than other memory-safe languages like Scala.
FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS
SCALA
Scala provides language interoperability with Java, meaning that libraries written in Java can be called or referenced directly in Scala code and libraries written in Scala can be referenced in Java.
This provides a lot of advantages and features for both Scala and Java developers.
Scala’s standard library includes support for futures and promises for asynchronous programming. Scala also comes with built-in support for data-parallel operations on collections to improve performance.
Actors can also be used for concurrency and distribution.
There are many popular companies using Scala, some of them include Twitter, Wix, Viber, Decathlon.fr, Coursera, Linkedin, Duolingo, Apple, The Guardian, and many others
RUST
Rust has great unique features that make it suitable for building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, and more. One of the best features of Rust is how it handles memory.
Rust can power performance-critical services, run on embedded devices, and easily integrate with other languages.
Rust can interface with other programming languages such as C and C++, it has a foreign function interface that can be used to call code written in C from Rust and to call Rust code from C.
Rust also has a library called CXX that can be used to call C++ code from Rust and to call Rust Code from C++.
There are many companies using Rust, some of the popular ones include Dropbox, Firefox, Cloudflare, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Discord, Mozilla, NPM, etc.
SHOULD I LEARN SCALA OR RUST
Once you have compared the languages and evaluated all the factors, you can choose which programming language to learn depending on the factors that are on your side and what you want to build.
If you want a high-paying language that you can use for web development, big data processing, machine learning, text processing, and server-side programming, you should learn Scala over Rust.
If you are interested in a high-performance language that can help you in developing systems quickly, working on command line tools, network services, embedded systems, and webAssembly, you should learn Rust over Scala.
