>The rust code was running circles around their Swift ones even when we tried to keep implementations the same.
I've done Advent of Code a few years -- even Javascript implementations, if using a good (optimal) algorithm, are highly performant, so I'm suspicious of the claim. In most AoC problems, if your code is observably different between languages, it's the fault of the algorithm, regardless of language. But perhaps you are referring to well-profiled differences, even if there are no observable differences.
That said, in projects other than AoC I've compared Swift to C++ and it's hard to deny that a low-level language is faster than Swift, but Swift itself is certainly fast compared to most dynamically typed or interpreted languages like Python, JS, Ruby, etc. which are vastly slower than anything in Swift.
> What Rust does is flip this. The default is the safe path. So instead of risking forgetting smart pointers and thread safe containers, the compiler keeps you honest.
For what it’s worth, the same is true of Swift. But since much of the original Rust team was also involved with Swift language development, I guess it’s not too much of a surprise. The “unsafe” api requires some deliberate effort to use, no accidents are possible there. It’s all very verbose through a very narrow window of opportunity if you do anything unsafe.
> Most of the time, me writing looks—to the untrained eye—like someone watching ESPN. The truth is if you did a pie chart of the writing process, most of the time is spent thinking. When you’re loaded up and ready to go—when you’ve got that intention and obstacle for the first scene that’s all you need. For me at least, getting started is 90% of the battle. The difference between page zero and page two is all the difference in the world.
Helix is a simple install, easy to give it a try and see what you think. For most people, there’s no configuration necessary to get started. I jumped through the hoops to get C++ tools in a variety of editors, and nothing was as simple as Helix for me.
Helix is great! The out-of-the-box LSP for C++ is a major strength, no config needed for me compared to 100% of all other editors I've used. The context-aware popups are nice too, and the overall UI is snappy and fresh. Highly recommend if you are a fan of modal editing and willing to try something new.
I've got the M1 Air with 16GB RAM and honestly, not being a fanboy or anything, it's the best computer I've ever owned. The battery lasts for days for me, it's very lightweight, zero noise (no fan on this model), not too warm, and has not yet struggled with any of the tasks I've thrown at it (I regularly keep open simultaneously Xcode, Slack, multiple browser tabs, PDF viewing, terminal scripts, etc). I also do some Logic Pro music projects, nothing really heavy, but it handles all the VSTs and stuff fine too.
Definitely recommend 16GB though. I have heard that the 8GB Air can be more problematic under these workloads.
I've done Advent of Code a few years -- even Javascript implementations, if using a good (optimal) algorithm, are highly performant, so I'm suspicious of the claim. In most AoC problems, if your code is observably different between languages, it's the fault of the algorithm, regardless of language. But perhaps you are referring to well-profiled differences, even if there are no observable differences.
That said, in projects other than AoC I've compared Swift to C++ and it's hard to deny that a low-level language is faster than Swift, but Swift itself is certainly fast compared to most dynamically typed or interpreted languages like Python, JS, Ruby, etc. which are vastly slower than anything in Swift.