Would You Ever Imagine Writing a Web App in Rust ??? Exciting, Right?

Rust has already made its mark as a powerful and safe systems programming language, but did you know that you can use it to write web applications? Yes, you read that right! With the rise of WebAssembly (Wasm), Rust is proving to be one of the most versatile languages out there, now capable of running on both the backend and the frontend.

I recently worked on a toy project using Rust with the Yew framework, and I am amazed by its potential. To share my experience, I’ve built a GitHub repository showcasing how you can write a modern web app in Rust, comparing it with a React app showing the same capability. Check it out here: Rust-Yew Showcase.

Why Rust Stands Out for WebAssembly

WebAssembly enables many languages to run in the browser, but Rust stands out as one of the few that offers seamless integration and excellent performance. While many other languages like C, C++, or Go can also compile to WebAssembly, Rust’s strict type safety and memory guarantees make it a superior choice.

This means Rust can be used to build high-performance, type-safe frontends while retaining its power on the backend. Imagine writing both your backend APIs and your frontend UI in one language. You don't need to even hire software engineers specialized on different languages. How cool is that?

Rust vs JavaScript: Backend and Frontend

Rust Backend

• + Performance, safety, concurrency.
• - Steep learning curve, smaller ecosystem.

JavaScript Backend

• + Easy to learn, vast ecosystem, full-stack potential.
• - Slower for CPU-heavy tasks, less type-safe (unless using TypeScript).

Rust Frontend

• + Type safety, near-native WebAssembly performance, unified stack.
• - Larger binaries, less mature tooling.

JavaScript Frontend

• + Mature ecosystem, excellent tools, faster dev cycle.
• - Dynamic typing, slower for heavy computation.

Conclusion: Rust excels in performance and safety; JavaScript dominates in simplicity and ecosystem.

My Excitement for Rust’s Versatility

It’s hard not to get excited about Rust’s potential. Being able to write both backend APIs and frontend UIs in one safe, high-performance language feels like a dream come true for developers. Yes, JavaScript still holds the crown for frontend simplicity and ecosystem, but Rust is carving out a niche for itself, especially in performance-critical web apps.

Explore My Project

To demonstrate this versatility, I created a simple project comparing Rust with Yew and React with JavaScript. Both implementations showcase basic components like a header, footer, and a LikeButton to demonstrate interactivity and state management. The project highlights the strengths and trade-offs of each approach.

As an example, the following image shows the LikeButton component from the like_button.rs file.

It's quite similar to React code, right? Just take a look at the next picture if you need proof!

Wanna see more? Feel free to check it out on my personal GitHub: Rust-Yew Showcase.

Conclusion

Rust is not just a systems programming language anymore. It’s shaping up to be a total language that can handle both backend and frontend tasks with ease. Whether you're looking for raw performance, type safety, or a unified stack, Rust with WebAssembly is worth exploring.

If you've never considered Rust for web development, now’s the time.