It’s Day 2 of my journey learning Rust as a longtime C# developer, and today I took the plunge: I installed Rust and created my first project. The whole thing felt a bit like unpacking a new toolbox—familiar enough to recognize the tools, but different enough that I had to check the manual.
Today marks Day 1 of my 42-day challenge to learn Rust—with a twist. I’m not approaching this as a blank-slate beginner. I’m bringing along years of C# experience, mental muscle memory from countless LINQ expressions, async/await workflows, and enough IEnumerable
But now? I’m learning a language that doesn’t have a garbage collector, doesn’t throw exceptions the same way, and thinks null is a bad idea.
I’ve spent over a decade writing C# and building solutions on .NET. But for six weeks, we will step outside the managed world of garbage collection and runtime JIT to dive headfirst into Rust—a systems programming language that promises performance, safety, and no nulls.
Over the course of 42 days, we will learn something new about Rust every single day. We will fight the borrow checker. We will make mistakes. And I will blog it all from the perspective of a C# developer trying to make sense of it.
What will happen when you take a C# developer, hand them a curly-brace language that loves safety and hates nulls, and give them six weeks to figure it out?
You will experience a journey filled with rewired brain circuits, redefined mental models, and a newfound respect for the compiler. This will mark the beginning of my 42-day dive into Rust, a daily learning challenge that will push me out of my .NET comfort zone and into a language that promises to be both frustratingly strict and beautifully empowering.
Regarding speed and efficiency, Rust doesn’t just run the race—it leaves other languages eating its dust. Built for blazing performance and low-level control, Rust’s unique features make it a standout choice for projects where every millisecond and megabyte count. Let’s dive into why Rust is the Usain Bolt of programming languages and how it stacks up in the performance department.
Switching from C# to Rust can feel like stepping into a new world. Suddenly, you’re dealing with ownership, borrowing, and a compiler that’s as strict as your high school math teacher. But don’t worry—you’ve got this. With the right mindset, some practical tips, and a few helpful resources, you’ll go from a Rust rookie to a Rustacean in no time. Let’s dive in!
Programming ecosystems are like bustling cities. .NET is the metropolis with skyscrapers and a thriving business district, while Rust is the up-and-coming tech hub—small but mighty, with startups everywhere. Both offer incredible opportunities, but their vibes are very different. So, let’s grab a coffee and tour these two dynamic ecosystems!
Concurrency in programming can be like cooking dinner while answering emails—you’re juggling multiple tasks at once, hoping nothing burns. C# and Rust both tackle concurrency, but their approaches couldn’t be more different. C# offers a traditional multitasking toolkit with threads and async/await, while Rust rewrites the rulebook with a compiler-enforced, fearless concurrency model. Let’s see how they compare!
Regarding memory management, programming languages take different approaches to ensure your applications don’t crash and burn. Think of it as cleaning up after a party: C# hires a janitor (garbage collector) to tidy up for you while Rust hands you a checklist and says, “You’ve got this.” Both methods work, but they have their quirks. Let’s dive into how memory is handled in these two languages and what makes each approach unique.
Programming languages are like different cuisines. Some stick to comfort and tradition, like C# with its familiar object-oriented flavors, while others, like Rust, spice things up with bold new ingredients like ownership and borrowing. In this post, we’ll compare the “syntax recipes” for common constructs in C# and Rust, highlighting the delicious differences and similarities along the way.