Transitioning from C++ to Rust

My Journey: The transition

For years, C++ was my go-to language. Early in my programming career, I primarily used it to develop mods for the video games I loved, an experience that also helped fuel my reverse engineering skills. C++ offered unparalleled power and flexibility, but with that power came significant challenges: memory leaks, undefined behavior, and the often dreaded debugging marathons. As time passed, a friend introduced me to Rust, a language that promised safety and performance without compromise. At first, it sounded almost too good to be true, but my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to embark on the journey, and it has been nothing short of transformative.

The Good: Rust’s Strengths Shine Bright

One of the first projects I tackled in Rust was a simple Chip-8 Emulator/Interpreter. While my C++ implementation was functional, debugging memory allocation issues and race conditions was an uphill battle. Rust’s ownership model eliminated entire classes of bugs. Borrowing rules, though initially puzzling, guided me to write cleaner and more predictable code. Suddenly, problems that would have taken hours to debug in C++ simply didn’t exist.

The same held true for a task manager project I developed. Integrating Egui for the GUI in Rust was easier than I initially thought it was going to be. The expressive type system allowed me to define task states with enums, making the application logic not only robust but also incredibly readable. In C++, managing states required extra vigilance to avoid introducing invalid transitions. Rust’s compiler, in contrast, acted like a tireless co-pilot.

The Challenges: Old Habits Die Hard

Transitioning wasn’t without its challenges. My DirectX 11 to DirectX 12 debug menu project highlighted Rust’s steeper learning curve for certain low-level operations. The safety guarantees came at the cost of verbosity, especially when dealing with raw pointers. In C++, accessing a DirectX device felt straightforward—albeit risky. Rust’s insistence on explicit lifetimes and safe abstractions made the process slower but undeniably safer. I’ll admit: there were moments of frustration as I grappled with lifetimes, wondering if the compiler was being overly pedantic. In hindsight, I’m grateful for those lessons.

Another hurdle was translating algorithms reliant on unsafe operations. For example, when working on an audio downsampler, Rust’s strict boundaries around unsafe code forced me to rethink and optimize the logic. What initially felt like a limitation often led to a better understanding of the problem.

The Ugly: When Rust’s Ecosystem Falls Short

One area where Rust still lags is ecosystem maturity for niche domains. While libraries like thiserror and byteorder made my Emulator easier to write, I found the ecosystem lacking when implementing a real-time ESP rendering system. In C++, vast libraries and decades of community wisdom meant I could find a solution to nearly any problem. Rust’s ecosystem is growing rapidly, but I occasionally had to reinvent the wheel or settle for less polished tools.

Looking Ahead: Rust as My Default

Despite the challenges, Rust has won me over. The peace of mind that comes from knowing my code is memory-safe without sacrificing performance is invaluable. Moving forward, I can’t imagine going back to C++ for new projects. Whether it’s writing a password manager, developing high-performance rendering systems, or exploring cybersecurity tools, Rust feels like the right tool for the job.

That’s not to say I’m abandoning C++ entirely. Its ecosystem and sheer ubiquity ensure it’ll remain relevant for years. But as I plan future projects, from improving audio processing pipelines to building smarter automation systems, Rust will be my default choice. The journey hasn’t been easy, but the rewards have been immense.

For anyone considering the switch, my advice is simple: embrace the challenges. Rust’s steep learning curve pays off in code quality, maintainability, and a renewed sense of confidence as a developer. Transitioning from C++ to Rust isn’t just about learning a new language it’s about embracing a new way of thinking.