Getting Started with Rust

Getting Started with Rust

Rust is a systems programming language that runs blazingly fast, prevents segfaults, and guarantees thread safety. In this post, we’ll explore the fundamentals of getting started with Rust.

Installation

The easiest way to install Rust is using rustup:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Your First Program

Create a new project with Cargo:

cargo new hello_world
cd hello_world

Edit src/main.rs:

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}

Run your program:

cargo run

Key Concepts

Ownership

Rust’s most distinctive feature is its ownership system. Every value in Rust has a single owner, and when the owner is dropped, the value is freed.

Borrowing

Instead of moving ownership, you can borrow values:

fn len(s: &String) -> usize {
    s.len()
}

Pattern Matching

Rust’s match expression is incredibly powerful:

match number {
    0 => println!("Zero"),
    1..=5 => println!("One to five"),
    _ => println!("Greater than five"),
}

Next Steps

• Read The Rust Book
• Practice on Exercism
• Join the Rust Community

Happy coding!