Rust (Programming Language)

Rust is a systems programming language that aims to combine the speed of C and C++ with protection against common memory bugs. It began as a personal project of Graydon Hoare, was sponsored by Mozilla and reached its first stable release, version 1.0, in 2015. Since 2021 it has been stewarded by the independent Rust Foundation. Its central feature is an "ownership" system checked by the compiler, which prevents many errors such as using freed memory or data races without needing a garbage collector. That makes Rust popular for software where bugs are costly, including operating system components, browsers and financial infrastructure. In crypto it is one of the most important languages: Solana programs are usually written in Rust, Polkadot's node software is built with it, NEAR supports it for smart contracts, and many wallets and zero-knowledge proof libraries use it. It is known for a steep learning curve.