Its disappointing that C++ was chosen to build something that is going to live in-process. Rust would have been so much safer. All the segfaults you get when running DucDB supports this statement.
You can't make project choices in a vacuum, and you can't assume others can either. People have limited time. The choice they were facing was probably not C++ vs Rust, but C++ vs nothing because they didn't have time to learn a new language before starting their project.
Also, their first release was in 2019, so they probably heard of it, but that's around the beginning of its recent spike in popularity. It's starting to be viewed as a good long term option, but back then a lot of people were still wondering if it was a fad.
I'm learning Rust, and I'm a big fan, but this is a bad take.
It can be done and it’s not that hard.
I think the choice of C++ for an in-process DB that is going to be very popular makes the entire industry less secure. If Chrome, one of the largest budget C++ code bases, still has memory bugs then there is no way DuckDB won’t.