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Rust VS TIC-80

Compare Rust VS TIC-80 and see what are their differences

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Rust logo Rust

A safe, concurrent, practical language

TIC-80 logo TIC-80

TIC-80 is a fantasy computer where you can make, play and share tiny games.
  • Rust Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-09

We recommend LibHunt Rust for discovery and comparisons of trending Rust projects.

  • TIC-80 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-20

Rust features and specs

  • Memory Safety
    Rust’s ownership system guarantees memory safety without a garbage collector, preventing common bugs such as null pointer dereferencing, buffer overflows, and data races.
  • Performance
    Rust aims to provide memory safety while maintaining high performance. It is often as fast as C and C++ due to zero-cost abstractions.
  • Concurrency
    Rust's ownership and type system make it easier to write safe concurrent code, helping developers avoid concurrency issues.
  • Tooling
    Rust has excellent tooling, including the Cargo package manager and build system, and Rustfmt for code formatting.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Rust has a growing community and ecosystem, with active contributions and a wide range of libraries and frameworks available.
  • Strong Typing and Error Handling
    Rust’s type system and pattern matching compel developers to handle errors and edge cases, leading to more robust and predictable code.

Possible disadvantages of Rust

  • Learning Curve
    Rust’s advanced features such as its ownership system and lifetimes can be difficult for beginners to grasp, making it harder to learn compared to some other languages.
  • Compilation Time
    Rust can have longer compilation times, especially for large codebases, which can slow down the development process.
  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Although growing, Rust's ecosystem is not yet as mature as those of more established languages like JavaScript, Python, or even C++, leading to fewer available libraries and frameworks for certain tasks.
  • Complexity of Code
    The strictness of Rust's borrow checker can lead to more complex and verbose code as developers explicitly manage ownership and lifetimes.
  • Tool and Library Development
    Despite the rapid growth, some tools and libraries are still under development or lack the polish of their counterparts in more mature languages.

TIC-80 features and specs

  • Portability
    TIC-80 can run on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and even web browsers. This allows for a wide range of accessibility and convenience.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    TIC-80 offers an all-in-one IDE with code editor, sprite editor, map editor, sound and music editors. This integrated environment simplifies the development process by keeping all the necessary tools in one place.
  • Retro Aesthetic
    It provides a nostalgic development experience with its retro-style visual and audio capabilities, appealing to fans of old-school gaming.
  • Free Version Availability
    A free version is available with most features accessible, making it easy for beginners and hobbyists to get started without any initial cost.
  • Community and Resources
    TIC-80 has an active community and a growing number of tutorials and resources, which can be very helpful for new developers to get support and learn new tricks.

Possible disadvantages of TIC-80

  • Limited Resources
    Due to its retro hardware constraints, TIC-80 has limitations on resources such as memory and performance, which can be a restricting factor for more complex or resource-intensive projects.
  • Learning Curve
    While it is beginner-friendly in many aspects, the environment and API have unique characteristics that may require some time and effort to get used to, especially for those unfamiliar with retro-style development.
  • Feature Restrictions in Free Version
    Although a free version exists, it comes with some feature limitations compared to the Pro version, which might be necessary for more advanced projects.
  • Niche Audience
    The focus on retro-style game development may not appeal to everyone, particularly those looking for modern development tools or more powerful engines.
  • Limited Market Share
    Compared to more established game development platforms, TIC-80 has a smaller user base and market share, which might limit exposure and collaboration opportunities.

Analysis of Rust

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Rust is considered very good by many developers, especially those who need to write safe and efficient code. Its growing community and ecosystem are further testament to its strengths.

Why this product is good

  • Rust is highly regarded for its memory safety without a garbage collector, providing developers with performance and safety guarantees. It has powerful concurrency support, expressive type system, and excellent tooling, making it a favorite for systems programming, web assembly, and other performance-critical applications.

Recommended for

  • System programmers who need to manage memory and resources efficiently.
  • Developers working on web assembly projects.
  • Teams that require safe concurrency mechanisms.
  • C and C++ developers looking for modern language alternatives.
  • Open-source contributors who want to be part of an active and welcoming community.

Analysis of TIC-80

Overall verdict

  • TIC-80 is a well-regarded tool for hobbyists and indie game developers looking to create retro-style games. Its simplicity combined with a comprehensive feature set makes it an excellent choice for both learning game development and creating polished projects. If you enjoy the challenge and charm of retro game design, TIC-80 is a great option.

Why this product is good

  • TIC-80 is considered a good fantasy console because it offers a complete suite of development tools within a retro-style environment reminiscent of early gaming consoles. It is particularly appreciated for its ease of use, cross-platform compatibility, and active community support. The console provides an 8-bit system with built-in tools for coding, drawing sprites, creating music, and designing levels, making it a perfect choice for developing small games and creative projects. TIC-80 also has a straightforward scripting language (Lua), which is accessible for beginners while still being powerful enough for more experienced developers.

Recommended for

    TIC-80 is ideal for beginners in game development who want to learn in a fun, manageable environment. It's also suitable for experienced developers looking to quickly prototype game ideas or participate in game jams. Fans of retro gaming aesthetics and developers interested in mastering an 8-bit style will find TIC-80 particularly appealing.

Rust videos

Rust Crash Course | Rustlang

More videos:

  • Review - Why You Should & Shouldn't Learn the Rust Programming Language
  • Review - All About Rust

TIC-80 videos

RetroArch TIC-80 Core | Let's Play

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Rust and TIC-80)
Programming Language
100 100%
0% 0
Game Engine
0 0%
100% 100
OOP
100 100%
0% 0
Game Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Rust and TIC-80

Rust Reviews

Top 5 Most Liked and Hated Programming Languages of 2022
A survey by Stack Overflow reveals that about 83.5% of 90000 developers loved Rust and tagged it to be the most adorable programming language. Rust is that general-purpose programming language that mainly caters to excellent performance and safety. This multi-worldview programming language has syntax similar to that of C++.
Top 10 Rust Alternatives
Several programming languages like Rust are among the popular ones. However, people are in search of some good alternatives to Rust. Therefore, today we will be talking more about the top 10 alternatives to Rust.
The 10 Best Programming Languages to Learn Today
Rust is a fairly advanced language, so you'll want to master another language or two before learning Rust. But you'll find that learning Rust pays off generously. The average salary for a Rust developer in the U.S. is $105,000 per year.
Source: ict.gov.ge

TIC-80 Reviews

16 Scratch Alternatives
TIC-80 is an online marketplace based on an open source network through which users can quickly get help regarding building, sharing, and playing numerous games. This platform lets its users get the complete development tools, such as code, maps, sprites, sound editors, command lines, and much more. It can even permit clients to have the cartridge file at the end to easily...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, TIC-80 should be more popular than Rust. It has been mentiond 72 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Rust mentions (48)

  • Useful Clippy lints
    Hello! Rust has very useful tool, named Cargo. It helps you compile code, run program, run tests and benches, format code using cargo fmt and lint it using clippy. In this post we'll talk abou Clippy. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Minimalist blog with Zola, AWS CDK, and Tailwind CSS - Part 1
    What are we going to do today? We're going to build a minimalist blog using Zola (built with Rust, btw), AWS CDK, Tailwind CSS, and a tiny bit of Typescript. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • This Tool can remove 98% Bloatware apps
    Effortlessly remove up to 98% of bloatware apps from your Android device without needing root access. Developed in Rust for efficiency and reliability. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • What Language Should I Choose?
    One language that really gave me that feeling was Gleam, it managed to wrap everything I liked about languages such as JS, Rust and even Java into one brilliant type-safe package. Not for a long time before I met Gleam had I wanted to try creating so many different things just to get to the bottom of how this language ticked, as it were. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Learning Rust: Enumerating Excellence
    Let's dive back into Rust! This time we're going to be going through the lesson called "Enums and Pattern Matching". We're going to be looking at inferring meaning with our data, how we can use match to execute different code depending on input and finally we'll have a look at if let. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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TIC-80 mentions (72)

  • RPG in a Box
    You'll probably love [TIC-80](https://tic80.com/). - Source: Hacker News / 25 days ago
  • Antirez/load81: SDL based Lua programming environment for kids similar to Codea
    And TIC-80 (https://tic80.com/). It can be used with "lua, ruby, js, moon, fennel, scheme, squirrel, wren, wasm, janet or python". - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • X11-Basic (1991-2020)
    Like this maybe? https://tic80.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • The Fennel Programming Language
    You'll always need to deal with a bit of Lua afaik. If you like fantasy consoles, you can use TIC-80[1] to not have to deal with any Lua. [1] https://tic80.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: What's the most fun you've had developing for an older gaming system?
    Not 100% retro but I've had a lot of fun doing Tiny Code Christmas[1] the last couple of years on TIC-80 [2] For actual retro system. 68000 assembler on the Atari ST is fun or for a slightly different challenge the Amiga [1] https://tcc.lovebyte.party/ [2] https://tic80.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Rust and TIC-80, you can also consider the following products

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible

LOVE 2D - Hi there! LÖVE is an *awesome* framework you can use to make 2D games in Lua.

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

PICO-8 - Lua-based fantasy console for making and playing tiny, computer games and programs.