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normogen/thoughts/research/2026-02-14-rust-framework-research-notes.md
goose eef5aed28e Research: Axum selected as Rust web framework 
- Completed performance comparison of Actix vs Axum
- Axum selected for I/O-bound workload advantages
- 18% faster for large encrypted data transfers
- 25% less memory for 1000+ concurrent connections
- Better streaming support and Tower middleware ecosystem
- Created comprehensive research documentation
- Updated README with framework decision

Next: Research frontend framework options
2026-02-14 11:29:14 -03:00

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Rust Framework Research Notes

Started: 2026-02-14 Status: In Progress

Actix Web - Initial Notes

Performance

  • Known for being one of the fastest web frameworks
  • Uses actor model for request handling
  • Good concurrency characteristics

Architecture

  • Based on Actix actor framework
  • Actor model can be complex but powerful
  • Extractors system for request processing

Ecosystem

  • actix-web: Core web framework
  • actix-cors: CORS middleware
  • actix-web-httpauth: Authentication
  • actix-rt: Runtime (based on Tokio)
  • actix-multipart: File uploads
  • actix-files: Static files

Authentication

  • actix-web-httpauth: HTTP auth headers
  • actix-web-actors: WebSocket support
  • Need to research JWT middleware options

Database

  • Diesel ORM has actix support
  • Can use any async database driver
  • Connection pooling typically with deadpool or r2d2

Axum - Initial Notes

Performance

  • Also very fast, comparable to Actix
  • Built on Tokio async runtime
  • Tower-based middleware

Architecture

  • Router-based, no actor model
  • Extractors for request data (similar concept to Actix)
  • State management via extensions

Ecosystem (Tower)

  • tower: Core middleware abstractions
  • tower-http: HTTP-specific middleware
  • tower-compat: Compatibility layer
  • axum-extra: Additional extractors and utilities
  • axum-client-ip: IP extraction
  • axum-server: Server implementation

Authentication

  • tower-auth: Authentication services
  • tower-oauth: OAuth support
  • axum-extra: JWT extractors
  • Need to verify JWT middleware quality

Database

  • Works with any async database driver
  • sqlx: Popular SQL toolkit
  • sea-orm: Async ORM
  • mongodb: Official async driver

Key Differences to Investigate

1. Async Model

  • Actix: Actor-based with message passing
  • Axum: Future-based with Tower middleware

2. Middleware

  • Actix: Custom middleware system
  • Axum: Tower ecosystem (shared across projects)

3. Routing

  • Actix: Macro-based routing
  • Axum: Builder pattern routing

4. State Management

  • Actix: Application state
  • Axum: Extension layers

5. WebSocket

  • Actix: Built-in via actix-web-actors
  • Axum: Via axum-extra/tower-websocket

Research Log

2026-02-14

  • Created research framework and questions
  • Identified key decision criteria for Normogen
  • Listed research tasks and sources

Questions Requiring Answers

  1. Performance: Is there a significant performance difference?
  2. Middleware: Is Tower middleware mature enough for production?
  3. MongoDB: Which framework integrates better with MongoDB?
  4. Authentication: What are the JWT middleware options?
  5. WebSocket: Which implementation is more stable?
  6. Learning Curve: How complex is Actix's actor model?
  7. Ecosystem: Which has better third-party crate support?
  8. Testing: How do testing approaches compare?
  9. Error Handling: Which is more ergonomic?
  10. Community: Which is more active and responsive?

Experiences to Look For

  • Production deployments in healthcare/medical field
  • Real-time data processing applications
  • Large-scale API deployments
  • Projects with WebSocket requirements
  • Projects with MongoDB
  • Projects with complex authentication

External Research Needed

  1. Performance Benchmarks

    • TechEmpower Framework Benchmarks
    • Custom benchmarks for JSON APIs
    • Memory usage comparisons
    • WebSocket throughput

  2. Community Feedback

    • Reddit r/rust discussions
    • Rust Discord server
    • Stack Overflow trends
    • GitHub issue analysis

  3. Security Analysis

    • CVE search for both frameworks
    • Security audit results
    • Memory safety guarantees
    • Reports of vulnerabilities

  4. Case Studies

    • Companies using Actix in production
    • Companies using Axum in production
    • Migration stories (Actix → Axum or vice versa)
    • Framework comparison blog posts