Why language choice still matters in the AI coding era: picking constraints, not syntax
dotey · x · 2026-10-08
A developer asked why anyone still debates C/C++ vs Rust when AI writes the code. The view dotey endorses:
- AI makes writing code cheaper, not errors less costly — it still writes buggy code, and Rust's compiler catches part of that upfront
- C/C++'s ecosystem, platform support and legacy codebases won't vanish because of AI; that's what Rust still needs time to catch up on
- If AI could generate machine code directly with no source to review, proving correctness would matter more than writing it — tests cover given scenarios, but requirement understanding, missed cases and permission boundaries still need auditable artifacts
- Conclusion: for a long time we'll still need programming languages and source code
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