2024-01-05

Rust

• What do you already know about it?

  • Low Level Programming Language
    • C, C++
    • Go
  • Compiled code runs natively
    • No "runtime"
  • Memory "Safe"
    • Memory errors are typically caught at compile time
      • Borrow checking?
    • Other LL languages require manual memory management
    • Other LL languages have a "garbage collector"
  • Low Level programming people like it!
  • Used for CLI tools and Build tools in the JS ecosystem
  • Blazingly fast!

• What is it?

  • Low Level Programming Language
  • The Rust programming language helps you write faster, more reliable software
  • Rust gives the ability to do low level programming (systems programming, native programming, bare metal) in a similar style to high level languages
  • Less hassle than traditional Low Level programming languages

• How to Learn

  • Book
  • Rustlings Course
  • Rust by Example
  • Learn X In Y Minutes

• Why would we use it?

  • Speed
    • Speed of Developer Experience
    • Speed of running code
  • Stability
    • Compiler checked when new features are added to the lang
  • From the Rust Book:
    • Overall, Rust’s greatest ambition is to eliminate the trade-offs that programmers have accepted for decades by providing safety and productivity, speed and ergonomics.

• How do we get started?

  • Cargo
    • Dependency Manager
    • Build Tool
  • Rustfmt
    • Built in formatter
    • Sensible defaults every Rust developer uses
  • Rust Language Server
    • IDE integration / error messages
  • Install:
    • https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install
  • Use Cargo to generate a project / library

• Things I like

  • cargo run
    • Compiler errors are REALLY helpful

• Hello World

  • https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/hello.html

• Key Concepts

  • Ownership
    • I think
      • Compiler level garbage collection?
        • No runtime...
        • But the compiler can keep track of where a value is used and free it up automatically
      • Kinda like smart pointers?
    • Rules
      • Each value in Rust has an owner.
      • There can only be one owner at a time.
      • When the owner goes out of scope, the value will be dropped.

• Build a CLI git repo cloner

  • Create a package
    • https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/cargo.html
  • Add a dependency
    • cargo add
      • https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/commands/cargo-add.html
  • Tests

• Overall impressions

  • Docs are amazing
  • Crates we needed existed
  • Community is nice
  • Compiler errors are really good!
  • Code wasn't too crazy
  • Cargo is full featured!
    • Project setup
    • Linting / Formatting