Crystal vs Dart: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this comparison, we will look at the key differences between Crystal and Dart programming languages.

1. Syntax: Crystal has a syntax similar to Ruby, making it easy for Ruby developers to transition into Crystal. On the other hand, Dart has a syntax similar to Java or JavaScript, making it more familiar to developers with a background in these languages.

2. Type System: Crystal has a static type system, meaning that variable types are checked at compile-time, ensuring better type safety. Dart, on the other hand, has an optional static type system, allowing developers to choose whether to use type annotations or rely on dynamic type inference.

3. Concurrency: Crystal supports lightweight fibers, allowing concurrent programming with low memory footprint. It uses the Fibers API to manage concurrency and provides better control over parallelism. Conversely, Dart supports asynchronous programming through its Future and Stream classes, which allow developers to write non-blocking code that runs concurrently.

4. Compilation: Crystal is a compiled language and uses the Crystal compiler to translate its code into highly efficient native machine code, resulting in faster performance. On the contrary, Dart is a JIT-compiled language, which means it can be executed directly without the need for separate compilation steps, making it more suitable for rapid development and prototyping.

5. Standard Library: Crystal provides a rich standard library inspired by Ruby, which includes modules for networking, file I/O, regular expressions, and more. On the other hand, Dart's standard library is more focused on providing the core functionality and basic utilities required for building applications. Additional functionalities can be added through packages available on the Dart Package Manager (pub.dev).

6. Integration: Crystal can interoperate with C code, allowing developers to use existing C libraries and make system calls directly. This makes it easier to leverage existing software and libraries written in C. In contrast, Dart has better integration with JavaScript, allowing developers to reuse existing JavaScript code and libraries easily. This makes it suitable for building web applications and targeting both web browsers and server-side development.

In summary, Crystal and Dart differ in terms of syntax, type system, concurrency models, compilation approaches, standard libraries, and integration capabilities. While Crystal offers a Ruby-like syntax and static type checking, Dart has a syntax similar to Java or JavaScript and supports optional static typing. Crystal leverages lightweight fibers for concurrency, whereas Dart provides support for asynchronous programming. Crystal is a compiled language, whereas Dart is JIT-compiled. The standard libraries of both languages vary in terms of features and inspirations, and they have different integration capabilities with C and JavaScript respectively.