[pdimitar]

From my side, I knew about both `ripgrep` and `the_silver_searcher` but I will openly admit I've lost faith in C and C++'s abilities to protect against memory safety errors.

Thus, Rust tools get a priority, at least for myself. There are probably other memory-safe languages but I haven't had the chance to give them a spin like I did with Rust. If I found out about them then I'll also prefer tools written in them if there's no Rust port and if the alternatives are C/C++ tools.

[jhoechtl]

Ag is shorthand for argentum which in turn means silver.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver

[saagarjha]

Code search on your own codebase is generally not a place where memory safety shines.

[pdimitar]

When it's about security, I try not to pick and choose.

Plus a memory error might lead to scary consequences (like a random script getting elevated privileges).

Finally, and last I checked, `rg` is quite featureful and I've never felt constrained by it. So for me it's a win all around.

[saagarjha]

This is kind of my point: security requires a threat model, and you don't really have one. Rust has a lot going for it, and it does hold promise in improving the security of a lot of critical software. But in this case, it's not really doing that, so it's kind of misleading to say it is meaningfully doing anything for security.

[pdimitar]

I agree that in the case of grep-ing in the terminal the odds of covering your butt well enough by using a Rust tool are super slim.

That being said, there are powerful adversaries of anonymity and the right to personal data out there -- and security in depth is what works best against them. There's no one UltimateSecuritySolution™; there are many small ones that we layer on top of each other so we don't allow even a smidgen of air to pass between the cracks.

But yeah, I am paranoid. I am gradually preparing myself to move from macOS to Linux and even though I am not a criminal and never will be, I'll still make a heroic effort to make the odds of any foul play against me practically zero. (And that's why I will start using the userland Rust tools alternatives as well.)

I'll concede that in my case the biggest impact would probably come from running Chrome in a jail, and not from using `rg` vs. `ag`. That much is true, yep.

[saagarjha]

Yeah, it's kind of a shame in this case. There's tons to talk about in the area of where Rust shines here ("makes concurrency easy", "provides easy access to fast algorithm libraries", etc.) but security is just not really one of those points.

[pdimitar]

I don't disagree. I am just happy to point out that Rust increases security (since most security vulnerabilities I see reported are buffer over/under-flows or other memory safety mishaps). Rust definitely does not solve everything in security. You can still open yourself up for an elementary replay attack if you're not careful -- like I did just a few days ago.

[chx]

This is what I suspected: Rust zealotry. We are searching for a string. Language matters to the guy writing it but the user? Nah. There's no security hole here.

[pdimitar]

Who's the zealot here? The guy who doesn't want to risk and openly states so, or the guy proclaiming there's no risk, even with ample historical evidence for the opposite?

I don't accept your labeling, especially when it's so egregiously misguided.

Also, you're clearly seeing what you want to see.