Why Rust is My Go-To for Systems Programming

After 8+ years of software engineering and 5 years specializing in systems programming, I’ve worked extensively with C, C++, Go, and Rust. Here’s why Rust has become my default choice for anything performance-critical.

The Problem with C/C++

Don’t get me wrong — C and C++ are incredibly powerful. The Linux kernel, most game engines, and countless critical infrastructure projects are written in them. But they come with a tax:

• Memory bugs: Use-after-free, double-free, buffer overflows
• Undefined behavior: Silent corruption that’s hard to debug
• Manual memory management: Error-prone and time-consuming

In my experience working on VPN infrastructure serving millions of users, these issues weren’t theoretical — they were real bugs that cost real debugging time.

What Rust Gets Right

Zero-Cost Abstractions

Rust’s ownership system isn’t just about safety — it enables the compiler to make optimizations that would be impossible in C++. When I rewrote a per-peer workqueue system in Rust, we saw a 13.4% throughput improvement. Part of that came from better memory layout decisions the compiler could make.

// This abstraction compiles to the same assembly as manual pointer manipulation
fn process_packets<'a>(packets: impl Iterator<Item = &'a Packet>) {
    for packet in packets {
        // Zero overhead iteration
    }
}

Fearless Concurrency

The borrow checker prevents data races at compile time. This isn’t just convenient — it fundamentally changes how you design concurrent systems:

use std::sync::Arc;
use tokio::sync::RwLock;

// The compiler ensures this is thread-safe
let shared_state = Arc::new(RwLock::new(State::new()));

Excellent Tooling

• cargo is the best build system I’ve used
• clippy catches subtle bugs before they reach production
• rustfmt eliminates style debates
• The error messages actually help you fix problems

When I Still Use C

Rust isn’t perfect for everything:

• Kernel modules: Still easier in C (though eBPF with Aya is changing this)
• Quick prototypes: Sometimes C is faster to write
• Legacy codebases: Interop has overhead

Conclusion

For new systems projects, Rust is my default. The initial learning curve pays off in fewer bugs, better performance, and code that’s actually maintainable.

If you’re on the fence, try rewriting a small C utility in Rust. The experience will speak for itself.