Comparing transitive dependency version resolution in Rust and Java

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:00:01 +0000

You learn by comparing to what you already know. I was recently bitten by assuming Rust worked as Java regarding transitive dependency version resolution. In this post, I want to compare the two.

Dependencies, transitivity, and version resolution

Before diving into the specifics of each stack, let’s describe the domain and the problems that come with it.

When developing any project above Hello World level, chances are you’ll face problems that others have faced before. If the problem is widespread, the probability is high that somebody was kind and civic-minded enough to have packaged the code that solves it, for others to re-use. Now you can use the package and focus on solving your core problem. It’s how industry builds most projects today, even if it brings other problems: you sit on the shoulders of giants.

Langchain4J Musings

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:10:26 +0000

I’m coming relatively late to the LLM party, but I rarely come very early in the hype cycle.

Gartner hype cycle

For example, I never bought into blockchain, the solution still searching for problems to solve, nor in microservices, the latest in the cargo cult IT trends. Despite my late arrival at the LLM party, I have been a regular user of LLMs. I use OpenAI for non-controversial questions outside my cone of knowledge, e.g., linguistics or legal; I use GitHub Copilot in my IDE to improve my code.

Nicolas Fränkel on JAVAPRO International

Comparing transitive dependency version resolution in Rust and Java

Dependencies, transitivity, and version resolution

Langchain4J Musings