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Is it worth it using Rust+Axum for backend instead of Node.js? In which situations would you do so?
(lemmy.opensupply.space)
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this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2023
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Rust Programming
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For prototyping, if you don’t already know Rust, it’s probably not worth it.
When you really know Rust it’s IMO easier to write a web server in Rust than node, but there is a long road to getting to that level.
@anlumo @nyl you wouldn’t prototype a software using a tool that’s made for speed and memory safety. Rather aim for a tracing bullet. Prototypes are imho a waste of time
I think prototypes are fine to answer specific questions. However, I think it’s often the case that management doesn’t understand what a prototype is and thinks that this is just the alpha release of the real product.
Rule of thumb: if you don’t throw away all of the code after having answered that question you were writing it for, it’s not a prototype.
Because of that prototypes should be small - no more than a week or so worth of effort. Anything larger means it will take even longer to rewrite it from scratch which management will never like and is overall just a waste of time. Most of the time you don't actually want a prototype - you want a MVP written in the language of the final project as it will become the final product.
Really the only time I would write a prototype in a different language then the final product is when you don't yet know the language you want to (or more likely, need to) use or you know another language vastly more than the target language. The time saved by the language is often just not worth it overall when you are reasonably competent in both languages.