> Sure, there can be call for writing your own String type. But what's unique about Java as compared to say C, C++, Go, Rust, even to some extent C# is that …

You also can’t make a first class string type in most of those language because “hi” is defined to be of a system specified class. You can make a different type to store strings but it’ll never be as ergonomic to use.

It’s even worse in JavaScript, where the standard library is written in a different language (usually C++). It’s impossible to write JavaScript code that matches the performance of the built in string primitive. At least outside of specific niche use cases.

Rust has lots of alternate string like libraries in cargo that are optimized better for different use cases - like smallstring or ropey. They’re fast, convenient and ergonomic. I imagine C++ is the same.