The Rust programming language was invented in 2006 by Graydon Hoare while he worked for the Mozilla Foundation. Even though it is a relatively new programming language, Rust has found a huge acceptance, especially among blockchain developers.
Much adoption has happened since the Rust Foundation was set up in late 2020. Today over 50 blockchains and blockchain frameworks are built with it or supporting it. Indeed, blockchain developers have significantly helped bring the Rust programming language to the mainstream.
Rust is one of the several programming language options developers of blockchain projects have to consider. The list also includes C++, JavaScript, Ruby, and Go. Some blockchain developers have opted to invent new languages for their projects. Ethereum is a case in point, where Vitalik Buterin and his colleagues came up with the Solidity language.
Almost all the other languages used to build on blockchain, including Rust, were around when blockchain data structures emerged in 2009 with the launch of Bitcoin.
Rust is a statically and strongly typed programming language. It is also a compiled language, meaning a developer does not need to install an interpreter to run its code.
The reasons that developers choose to use Rust, especially for blockchain projects, are varied, and they include the fact that the Rust programming language is:
While many developers, programmers, and software engineers use Rust as an easy way to develop blockchain apps, it is important to point out that this language was not specifically designed for blockchain development. However, it has become an extremely convenient language for layer-one infrastructures and layer-two add-ons.
Indeed, some blockchains are built using other languages but allow developers to build decentralized applications and smart contracts on top of them using the Rust language directly and indirectly.
As a Rust developer, there is little consideration if you build from the ground up. However, if you intend to use an existing framework, you have to identify one that either is built using Rust or supports it.
Meanwhile, you can use various resources online to learn Rust. The most basic but highly functional of these is the Rust book, which is a resource by the Rust Foundation. It is targeted at beginners but, for it to be useful, one needs to have some basic programming skills.
For the most part, you are not expected to be concerned with building the basics of the blockchain protocol, particularly the elements that process transaction blocks and maintain the network nodes. That is often taken care of at the framework’s layer-one level. However, you could be concerned with that if you are building a blockchain data structure from scratch.
Most blockchain frameworks that support the Rust programming language, such as Polkadot, Casper Network, and Hyperledger, have robust peer-to-peer network libraries. Of course, that is a benefit you might not get if you intend to build a new blockchain from scratch.
Visual Studio Code supports Rust programming. While this editor is a product by Microsoft, it can be used with Windows, Linux, and macOS.
There are over 50 blockchains and blockchain applications that use the Rust language. The list includes the following notable projects:
Solana is a Proof of Stake (PoS) public blockchain platform with smart contract functionality. It was launched in early 2020, and its native coin, the SOL, is in the top twenty coins with the highest market valuation, according to CoinMarketCap.
Anatoly Yakovenko launched the Solana protocol in 2017 to answer the scalability problem of most smart contract blockchains. The Solana network has the potential to process over 700,000 transactions per second.
Solana uses the extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) protocol, which supports building decentralized applications and writing smart contracts using Rust, C, and C++ programming languages.
Polkadot is a framework that facilitates the building of many interoperable blockchains in an extensive ecosystem. The foundation of this ecosystem is a primary Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain known as a relay chain. The other blockchains built on top of this infrastructure are known as parachains.
The protocol was initially launched in early 2020. Gavin Wood, its founder, was also on the founding team of Ethereum. It attempts to solve the scalability problem by enabling developers to build blockchains dedicated to specific tasks.
Polkadot supports Rust through WebAssembly (Wasm), a programming protocol that interfaces various languages.
This is a private blockchain framework launched in 2017. It is a project by a consortium led by the Linux Foundation. The project is designed for enterprise use and with limited access both for those building applications and setting up smart contracts and those who support the core infrastructure.
The smart contracts written and executed on the Hyperledger Fabric framework are known as chaincodes. The primary consensus mechanism for the framework is the Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT).
The smart contracts on Hyperledger Fabric can be written in Go, JavaScript, and other languages, such as Rust, through appropriate installed modules.
This is a permissionless proof of stake blockchain framework designed by Casper Labs. It supports highly upgradable but secures smart contracts. Medha Parlikar, the co-founder of Casper Labs, has described their approach to their unique upgradable smart contract as ‘having the future unwritten but the past immutable.’
The project has a wide range of developer tools and other resources to enable those intending to build smart contracts to have few obstacles. As part of this approach, Casper Network uses the WebAssembly (Wasm) as a meta-protocol, which opens up the possibility of using a wide range of programming languages, including Rust.
The Rust programming language has shown that it can be used to build layer-one infrastructure solutions such as blockchains and frameworks. But indeed, its first applications were end-user applications. And owing to how easy it is to use the language, its memory efficiency, and high-speed execution, more blockchain applications will be built using this language.
The net result is that any conceivable web3 platform, including decentralized applications, smart contracts, metaverses, and other digital assets, can be built using it.
Interested in helping your business leverage the power of blockchain and smart contracts with real utility and flexible features?
Reach out to the Casper Network support team. Besides a wide range of developer tools and resources, we provide customized guidance to help developers figure out where to start and the best approach to meet your needs.
