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JetBrains Launches New IDE Designed for Rust Programmers

JetBrains launches specialized IDE for Rust developers.

• By John K. Waters
• September 27, 2023

Software development toolmaker JetBrains has created a new  IDE designed specifically for the Rust system programming language. Dubbed RustRover, the new IDE combines advanced coding support with an integrated toolchain, which makes it possible for Rust developers to build apps and services more efficiently.

Rust is all about type safety, speed, and concurrency. It's a system-level language designed to ensure memory safety, and it's used to facilitate designing and writing code that allows smooth integration of hardware and software. It was developed by Graydon Hoare at Mozilla Research around 2006, with the first stable release, Rust 1.0, announced in May 2015.

With RustRover, JetBrains is offering tailored features that allow Rust developers to focus on its strengths, while alleviating the complexities associated with the language. Those features include real-time feedback, intelligent code suggestions, simplified toolchain management, and collaborative team functionalities. The IDE supports rapid error detection through on-the-fly analysis to enhanced code comprehension through valuable insights. And the support for Rust toolchains and VCS integration contributes to a more versatile and cooperative coding environment, the company said.

The popularity of Rust has been growing over the past few years. Users even have a nickname: "Rustaceans." More importantly, there's a steward organization. The Rust Foundation is an independent non-profit group focused on "nurturing the Rust ecosystem, and supporting the set of maintainers governing and developing the project."

Evidence of the growing popularity of the language can be found in a Stack Overflow developer survey, conducted last year. Among the more than 70,000 developers responding to the survey, 87% said they want to continue using Rust. The surveyors described it as one of "the most loved" languages. By some estimates, there are now 2.8 million Rust developers.

The Prague-based JetBrains makes a number of IDEs, including the popular IntelliJ IDEA for Java developers and PyCharm for Python devs. The company is also the creator of Kotlin, a popular cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose high-level programming language with type inference. And the company has conducted its survey of Rust users.

"With RustRover, we are addressing the evolving needs of developers in a market that is rapidly developing," said Vitaly Bragilevsky, Developer Advocate of RustRover, in a statement. "We are witnessing a surge in the Rust ecosystem; 56% of developers we surveyed have started adopting Rust in the last 6 months. By combining advanced coding support and integrated toolchain capabilities, our IDE enables developers to navigate this growing landscape more efficiently and contribute to the thriving Rust community."

The company previously developed an open-source Rust plugin for its IntelliJ IDE, called IntelliJ Rust. With an IDE, the company aims to enhanced functionality for the growing Rust community.

RustRover is available now in the EAP for free. And there's a plugin version compatible with IDEA Ultimate and CLion.