Rust Notes

Notes on using the Rust Programming language

Rust Playground

You can use the Rust Playground to try Rust without installing it.

Installing Rust

1. Website: https://www.rust-lang.org
2. Install Rust: https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install
   1. macOS or Linux:
      1. curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
   2. Windows
      1. Download and run the appropriate rustup installer for Windows (32 bit or 64 bit)
3. Restart terminal window

Checking Rust Version

1. rustc --version
2. cargo --version

Updating existing Rust

1. rustup update

Setting up Rust in Visual Studio Code

Initial Setup for Rust Debugging in VS Code (macOS and Windows)

1. Install 'rust-analyzer' VS Code Extension
2. Install 'CodeLLDB' VS Code Extension.

Creating a new Rust Project

1. Run 'cargo new <project_name>' from Terminal to create new Rust Project

Enabling Debug in a Rust Project

1. Run 'code <project_name>' from Terminal to open that project in VS Code
2. Click on Run & Debug tab in VS Code
3. Click on "Show all automatic debug configurations"
4. Click on "Add configuration" in dropdown.
5. Choose 'LLDB'
6. Click 'Yes' on the dialog box that pops up.
7. This will generate a new '.vscode/launch.json' file which will allow debugging.
8. Set any breakpoints you need in the source.
9. Go to the Run & Debug tab on VS Code.
10. Click the Green arrow on the top to start running.

Basic CLI commands

Command	Description
rustc file.rs	Compile the Rust code in the file 'file.rc'
rustc --explain E0308	Explain a Rust error message, such as E0308 in this example
cargo run	Compile and run a debug version of the Rust project in the current folder
cargo build	Build a debug version of the Rust project in the current folder. The executable will be in the file 'target/debug/PROJECT_NAME'
cargo build --release	Build a release version of the Rust project in the current folder. The executable will be in the file 'target/release/PROJECT_NAME'
cargo check	Checks to see if your Rust program will compile without generating an executable
cargo new PROJECT_NAME	Create a new Rust project named PROJECT_NAME in a folder called PROJECT_NAME under the current folder

Common Files

File	Description
Cargo.toml	Project file containing configuration settings
main.rs	Main file of the project. Execution starts here in the main() function.
target/debug/PROJECT_NAME	Name of debug executable for the project named PROJECT_NAME (append .exe for Windows)
target/release/PROJECT_NAME	Name of release executable for the project named PROJECT_NAME (append .exe for Windows)

Links

Rust Language

• Rust Language Website
• The Rust Programming Language Book - Online book documenting the Rust Language
• The Cargo Book - Online book describing Cargo (the Rust build system)
• Online Rust Langage Compiler - Online Rust compiler for learning Rust without having to install it.
• Rust Books
• TOML - Tom's Obvious Minimal Language - The Rust config file language (usually in the project root in a file called 'Cargo.toml')

Training

• Rustlings - A series of short Rust programs used to test your knowledge of various Rust concepts.
• Cheat Sheet - A cheat sheet documenting many Rust features and links to explanations of them in the documentation.
• Rust by Example - A series of small Rust programs that explain different Rust features
• Read Rust A collection of links to various articles about Rust
• No Boilerplate - Youtube channel with various short videos on Rust
• Faster Than Lime - Blog with many articles on learning Rust
• No Boilerplate Discord
• The Little Book of Rust Macros
• Advent of Code - A series of programming exercises. It's not Rust specific but can be used for any language.

Using

• Instructions for setting up Rust in VS Code
• Community Support

Libraries

• Rocket.RS - Rust-based web framework