August 14, 2024 
C++ has been a staple for decades, powering everything from operating systems to game engines, but it’s not without its complexities.
Enter Carbon—a language introduced by Google engineers as a modern successor to C++, designed to address some challenges plaguing C/C++ developers.
Carbon aims to simplify these complexities while maintaining the power and flexibility that C++ developers rely on. But does Carbon truly live up to its promise? Should you be learning this in 2024?
You should consider learning Carbon in 2024 if you’re already familiar with C++ and looking to upskill yourself for the near-future. Carbon’s goals make it an excellent choice for system-level programmers, software engineers, and developers working on performance-critical applications.
Carbon vs C++, what’s the difference?
Carbon was announced in 2022 to address some of the inherent complexities and limitations of C++ while maintaining a strong connection to its predecessor. Carbon is designed to be an “evolution” of C++ rather than a replacement, offering a modernized approach to system-level programming.
The real question is, how does it compare to C++ when tested?
Similarities:
- Low-Level Capabilities: Like C++, Carbon is designed for system-level programming, making it suitable for developing operating systems, game engines, and other performance-critical applications.
- Performance: Carbon aims to deliver high performance akin to C++ with its control over memory management and hardware resources.
- Syntax Familiarity: Developers familiar with C++ will find Carbon’s syntax somewhat similar, making the transition smoother.
Differences:
- Simplified Syntax: Carbon removes some of the more complex and error-prone features of C++, such as manual memory management, and replaces them with safer, more intuitive alternatives.
- Memory Safety: Carbon introduces improved features to prevent common issues such as null pointer dereferencing and buffer overflows, which are prevalent in C++.
- Modern Language Features: Carbon incorporates modern programming language features like generics, improved type inference, and module systems, making it easier to write and maintain code.
C++
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
int main() {
std::vector<int> numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.size(); i++) {
std::cout << numbers[i] << std::endl;
}
return 0;
}
Carbon Example:
package main;
fn main() -> i32 {
let numbers: Vec<i32> = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
for (number in numbers) {
Console.WriteLine(number);
}
return 0;
}
A. The Learning Curve
Okay, I think I have sung enough praises of Carbon now. Let’s ask the real question: is it even feasible for you to learn Carbon in 2024?
For developers already familiar with C++, the learning curve for Carbon is relatively easy. Carbon was designed with a syntax and structure that borrows heavily from C++, making it easier for C++ developers to pick up the new language.
For developers new to system-level programming or those coming from higher-level languages like Python or JavaScript, the learning curve for Carbon may be steeper but not insurmountable. In fact, it’ll be slightly easier to learn Carbon, compared to C++.
Resources and Community Support: Carbon is a relatively new language, so resources and community support are still growing. However, Google’s involvement ensures that high-quality documentation, tutorials, and examples are developed.
Overall, the learning curve for Carbon is manageable, especially for those with a background in C++.
B. Carbon’s Interoperability with C++
It means that developers can use Carbon to write new modules or components in a C++ project without having to rewrite existing C++ code. This is particularly valuable for large, legacy codebases where a complete migration to a new language would be impractical.
- Linking with C++ Libraries: Carbon lets you directly link and call C++ libraries within a Carbon project.
- Data Type Compatibility: Carbon is designed to work with C++ data types, making it easy to pass data between C++ and Carbon code without complex conversions.
- Incremental Adoption: Since Carbon can be used alongside C++, developers can incrementally adopt Carbon in their projects, starting with new features or modules while retaining the existing C++ codebase.
Let’s say you have a C++ function that performs a complex mathematical operation:
// math_operations.cpp
double ComplexOperation(double x) {
return x * x + 2 * x + 1;
}
You can call this C++ function directly from Carbon:
package main;
fn main() -> i32 {
let result: f64 = ComplexOperation(5.0);
Console.WriteLine(result);
return 0;
}
Key Features of Carbon
A. Modern Syntax and Language Features
One of Carbon’s main goals is to simplify the complex and often verbose syntax of C++.
#include <iostream>
template <typename T>
T add(T a, T b) {
return a + b;
}
int main() {
std::cout << add<int>(3, 5) << std::endl;
return 0;
}
package main;
fn add(a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
return a + b;
}
fn main() -> i32 {
Console.WriteLine(add(3, 5));
return 0;
}
Generics: Carbon’s generics allow for creating flexible, reusable components while maintaining strong type safety.
Improved Type Inference: Carbon features enhanced type inference, reducing the need for explicit type declarations. The compiler can often automatically infer the types of variables and return values, streamlining the coding process.
B. Memory Safety Enhancements
Memory management has always been a challenging aspect of C++ programming, often leading to bugs and vulnerabilities. Well, at least until now.
Automatic Memory Management: Carbon incorporates automatic memory management, mitigating the need to manually manage memory allocation and deallocation. This feature helps prevent common memory-related errors like leaks and dangling pointers.
Null Safety: Carbon also introduces null safety mechanisms to prevent null pointer dereferencing, a common source of runtime errors in C++. By default, Carbon encourages using non-nullable types, requiring developers to explicitly handle cases where a value might be null.
C++:
int* ptr = nullptr;
if (ptr) {
// Do something with ptr
}
Carbon:
var ptr: Ptr<i32> = null;
if (ptr != null) {
// Safe dereferencing of ptr
}
C. Performance and Efficiency
Low-Level Control: Like C++, Carbon provides low-level control over system resources, allowing developers to write code close to the hardware. This is particularly important for system-level programming, game development, and other performance-critical applications.
Concurrency and Parallelism: Carbon is designed with modern hardware in mind, offering robust support for concurrency and parallelism. The language includes built-in features to simplify the development of multi-threaded applications, and we all know that’s a wet dream of every C++ developer.
C++ (Concurrency):
#include <thread>
#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
void thread_function(int id) {
std::cout << "Thread " << id << " running\n";
}
int main() {
std::vectorstd::thread threads;
for (int i = 0; i < 5; ++i) {
threads.emplace_back(thread_function, i);
}
for (auto& th : threads) {
th.join();
}
return 0;
}
Carbon (Concurrency):
package main;
fn thread_function(id: i32) {
Console.WriteLine("Thread ", id, " running");
}
fn main() -> i32 {
let threads: Vec<Thread> = [];
for (id in 0..5) {
threads.push(Thread.Start(thread_function, id));
}
for (thread in threads) {
thread.Join();
}
return 0;
}
Industry Adoption and Job Market
Google’s backing provides a strong foundation for Carbon’s development and adoption, as the company has a track record of creating widely-used languages like Go and Dart.
Key Industries Showing Interest:
- Tech Giants: Companies like Google, which have large codebases written in C++, are exploring Carbon as a potential tool for modernizing their systems without requiring complete rewrites.
- Game Development: The gaming industry relies heavily on C++ for performance-critical applications and is interested in Carbon’s potential to simplify development while maintaining performance.
- System-Level Programming: Industries that require low-level control over hardware, such as embedded systems and operating system development, are beginning to explore Carbon as a modern alternative to C++.
Job Market and Demand
While Carbon is still new, its potential to become a major player in system-level programming means developers with Carbon skills could be in high demand shortly.
Potential Job Opportunities:
- System-Level Programmers: As Carbon becomes more widely adopted, system-level programmers with Carbon expertise will be needed to maintain and develop new applications.
- Game Developers: The gaming industry, which already has a high demand for C++ developers, may begin to seek out developers with Carbon skills as the language gains traction.
- Embedded Systems Engineers: Industries that rely on embedded systems may start looking for engineers who can work with Carbon to develop modern, efficient solutions.
Salary Expectations: While specific salary data for Carbon developers is not yet available, it is reasonable to expect that salaries will be competitive with those for C++ developers, especially as demand for Carbon expertise grows.
Future Outlook: The future of Carbon looks promising, especially given Google’s involvement and the interest from industries that rely heavily on C++. However, as with any new language, its success will depend on its adoption by developers and the broader tech community.
Is Carbon here to replace Rust?
According to Carbon’s official documentation, it’s not meant to replace Rust. Matter of fact, if it’s technically and economically viable for your project, you should use Rust.
Here’s the entire quote:
Carbon is for organizations and projects that heavily depend on C++; for example, projects that have a lot of C++ code or use many third-party C++ libraries. We believe that Rust is an excellent choice for writing software within the pure Rust ecosystem. Software written in Rust has properties that neither C++ nor Carbon have.
Conclusion
The decision to learn Carbon should be based on your specific career goals, current skill set, and the demands of the industry you’re targeting. If you are already a C++ developer, learning Carbon could provide a natural progression in your skill set.
On the other hand, if your interests lie in other domains like mobile development, data science, or web development, alternative languages such as Swift, Python, or Rust may offer more immediate benefits.
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