A comprehensive comparison of 6 different Entity Component System (ECS) libraries in Rust, demonstrating production-ready patterns with type-safe entity handles and command systems.
This project implements the same pane-dataset management system across multiple ECS libraries, each enhanced with production-ready patterns to provide a realistic comparison of real-world usage.
Library | Approach | Key Features |
---|---|---|
Flax | Relations-based | Type-safe handles, modular components, built-in relations, command system |
Evenio | Event-driven | Type-safe handles, command system, registry pattern, event architecture |
Hecs + Hierarchy | Hierarchy-based | Type-safe handles, command system, parent-child relationships |
Bevy ECS | Component-based | Type-safe handles, command system, modern API, wrapper relationships |
Sparsey | Group-based | Type-safe handles, component groups |
Flecs | Limited Rust API | Type-safe handles, simulated command system |
Each library implementation is available as a separate binary:
# Run individual examples
cargo run --bin flax_example
cargo run --bin evenio_example
cargo run --bin hecs_example
cargo run --bin bevy_ecs_example
cargo run --bin sparsey_example
cargo run --bin flecs_example
All examples showcase production-ready patterns:
- Type-Safe Entity Handles: Compile-time prevention of entity type mixing
- Command Systems: Queue-based deferred execution for safer entity lifecycle management
- Realistic Data: Sensor data examples instead of artificial test data
- Comprehensive Functionality: Beyond basic component storage and queries
See ECS_COMPARISON.md for an in-depth analysis of each library including:
- Code examples with production patterns
- Performance characteristics
- Readability and maintainability assessment
- Production-readiness evaluation
- Detailed recommendations for different use cases
The comparison reveals that Flax Enhanced provides the best combination of type safety, semantic relations, modular organization, and zero-cost abstractions, making it the most suitable choice for large-scale production applications.
- Rust 2024 edition
- See
Cargo.toml
for specific dependency versions
This project is for educational and comparison purposes, demonstrating different approaches to ECS architecture in Rust.