> My overall feeling is that if I could spend infinite time and effort, my C programs would be as fast or faster than Rust, because theoretically there's nothing C can't do that Rust can.
The exact same argument applies to assembly code. There are very good reasons that it's not used nowadays except in incredibly rare circumstances or in the embedded world.
It doesn't matter in the slightest how fast your language is in theory. Not one iota.
The only thing that matters is how fast the programs you write with it are in practice. The evidence is clear: it is significantly easier to write faster programs in Rust than it is in C, and this applies to even the most skilled developers.
The exact same argument applies to assembly code. There are very good reasons that it's not used nowadays except in incredibly rare circumstances or in the embedded world.
It doesn't matter in the slightest how fast your language is in theory. Not one iota.
The only thing that matters is how fast the programs you write with it are in practice. The evidence is clear: it is significantly easier to write faster programs in Rust than it is in C, and this applies to even the most skilled developers.