Hence, as you want to write a back-end that's scalable and readable, you've chosen rust over C++.
Such an in-depth response!
What's your opinion of Dave Plummer's speed test? I was surprized that assembly wasn't the fastest of his tests. It really says how amazing compiling has become.
That's pretty cool. Feel sorry for the guy since he mentioned his history with DOS (Dirty Operating System).
What makes you interested in performance rn?
Also, I'd never have considered c++ for my project, but rather c. I find OOP abstractions to waste my mental space to no benefit.
And sure, I'd say rust is more readable than c. The author was clearly thoughtful across the board. It's simply more modern in its thinking.
Regarding scalability I'd say that rust makes concurrency simpler than c. Back in the day computers were single core and making huge strides there. It wasn't until the 2000s that we hit a ceiling and had to go wide with multiple cores and smart with prediction and larger caches and so on.
I don't have any good reason to be interested in performance. That being said, I tend to view inefficient languages- Python and Javascript especially- as "less good." Granted, python's ability to be built on top of C libraries is a huge saving grace. Javascript should be replaced by WebASM in IMO. Like you said, the inefficiencies add up as the scale gets larger.
As a disclaimer, I could be swayed to like Javascript. I haven't been challanged on my view yet.
I'd like to go into embedded programming which is why I'm interested in C and OS dev. Most of the tooling we have (as an internet) is still built for C. I know they're starting to write parts of the Linux kernel in Rust. How is Rust for that kind of development?
Well it sounds like you're serious about it. I'd always recommend focusing on where your passion lies. If that's embedded then c and rust are solid choices.
Just always be aware of what motivates you. Adjust your plan as you go. Find the balance between boring and frustrating. Did you know that the guy behind Google earth is a gardener now? That's totally fine.
I'm just saying don't torture yourself with your own fantasies, but always remain skeptical and cut cut cut. Choose consciously and then commit your full energy.
The only failure is to go against your own nature. Managing your motivation is way more important than optimizing performance. You can always refractor anyway.
That being said if you want to be thorough I'd recommend you start at c with a side of assembly. Stick to that until you feel comfortable and then move on into rust.
When switching you'll probably want to start from scratch because you've improved your design so much. You can always port it too or link it as a library. Don't worry about that right now, that's a future you problem.
I actually really appreciate your comments about motivation, it's one of the things programmers don't tend to mention on the web. I definitely see my motivation wax and wain. I have my fantastic dream's that get the better of me too. I guess we can't all be a Torvalds. 🤷♂️