Can we currently reason about Rust code with absolute certainty? Not really, but we should be able to. In this article, we dive into the reasons why it may be time for a Rust specification.
I’m actually surprised there is no specification. It’s how I thought languages were written: spec first, implementation later. Do RFCs serve this purpose?
That’s actually not how any language has ever been written, though it’s easy to get that impression from how much the C and C++ communities emphasize their formal specifications.
But in fact, both languages were in production use for over a decade before they had a formal spec. And languages with formal specifications are actually a tiny minority of programming languages.
That requires a complete picture and all possible use cases from the start. Initially when a language is new and hardly used there are much to benefit from flexibility and trying new concepts. Then as the language matures, a more formal process is needed to ensure stability. There is a reason these discussions comes now, since rust is in a very stable phase.
I’m actually surprised there is no specification. It’s how I thought languages were written: spec first, implementation later. Do RFCs serve this purpose?
Anti Commercial-AI license
That’s actually not how any language has ever been written, though it’s easy to get that impression from how much the C and C++ communities emphasize their formal specifications.
But in fact, both languages were in production use for over a decade before they had a formal spec. And languages with formal specifications are actually a tiny minority of programming languages.
That requires a complete picture and all possible use cases from the start. Initially when a language is new and hardly used there are much to benefit from flexibility and trying new concepts. Then as the language matures, a more formal process is needed to ensure stability. There is a reason these discussions comes now, since rust is in a very stable phase.
There might also just not be a single spec because the information is spread out over RFCs instead of being collected in a central location.
Welcome to the real world. /s