Rust Language Basics

2.1. Rust Language Basics#

2.1.1. Variables#

Rust contains many of the same types of variables used in other programming languages. These variables include:

  • integer: int (u8,i8,u16,i16...u64/usize)

  • floating-point f32,f64

  • boolean bool

  • character char

  • tuple tup

  • array (not frequently used though, Vector is much more common)

You will notice that, unlike higher-level languages like Python, Rust has many different types of integers. The first letter indicates the sign (u for unsigned, i for signed), and the number indicates the number of bits. Therefore, u8 is an unsigned 8-bit integer, i32 is a signed 32-bit integer, and so on. usize is a special type that is the same size as the memory address of the computer, and is used for indexing into arrays and vectors.

By default, variables are immutable, which means that once you assign a value you cannot modify (mutate) it anymore. However, you have the option to make your variables mutable by adding mut in front of the variable name.

When defining a variable, sometimes the compiler can infer the type.

let x = 14;

Other times it cannot and requires you provide the type

let x: u8 = 14;

Read more in the Rust Book

2.1.2. Functions#

Functions in Rust are defined as:

fn main() {
    //expression;
}

Functions are private by default. To make them public, add pub before fn. A function can be called from another file if it is public.

pub fn main() {
    //expression;
}

Functions can have a return type that is indicated with -> after the name. For example fn square(n: u64) -> u64

The return can be explicitly given with return [expression or variable]; or it can be the last line of a function with no semicolon:

fn square(n: u64) -> u64 {
    return n * n;
}

or

fn square(n: u64) -> u64 {
    n * n
}

Read more in the Rust Book

2.1.3. Control Flow#

if Expressions:#

  • An if expression allows you to run code depending on conditions. Optionally, we can include an else expression, which will execute the code if the condition evaluates to false.

  • You can handle multiple conditions by using an else if expression

  • if expressions can also be used in a let statement to assign a variable dependent on conditions

  • Example:

fn main() {
    let number = 10;
    
    if number % 5 == 0 {
        println!("number is divisble by 5");
    } else {
        println!("number is not divisble by 5");
    }
}

loop#

  • loop allows you to execute a block of code repeatedly forever, or until you explicitly tell it to stop.

  • You can use the break keyword within the loop to tell the program when to stop executing the loop

    • If you want to have the loop return a value, you can add the value you want returned after the break expression

  • Example:

fn main() {
    let mut counter = 0;

    loop { 
        counter += 1
        if counter == 10 {
            break counter;       // will break the loop and return counter value
        }
    }
}

while conditional loop#

  • A while loop allows you to run the loop while the condition is true, and when the condition ceases to be true, the loop will break

  • Example:

fn main() {
    let mut number = 5;
    while number > 0 {
        println!(number);
        number -= 1
    }
}

for loop#

  • A for loop executes code for each item in a collection. When you want to iterate through a list of elements, this is the most common way to do so. for loops Note later you will need to learn more about iterators which allow for loops to iterate through the values. When you learn about ownership, you will want to learn about different types of iterators.

fn main() {
    let v = &["apples", "cake", "coffee"];

    for text in v {
        println!("I like {}.", text);
    }
}

You can also iterate through a series of integers.

fn main() {
    let mut sum = 0;
    for n in 1..11 {
        sum += n;
    }
    assert_eq!(sum, 55);
}

2.1.4. Rust Macros#

Rust has a powerful macro system that consists of two major types of macros:

  • Declarative Macros with macro_rules!. These are similar to C macros.

  • Procedural Macros with #[derive] and #[proc_macro] and others. These are more powerful and resemble decorators in Python.

You have already seen declarative macros in println!, assert_eq!. They are built into the language and support metaprogramming, which allows you to write more condensed code that expands into more verbose code at compile time. Macros are defined for functions such as println! to allow for variable arguments, a language feature that is not possible with plain functions in Rust.

Procedural macros are more advanced; you will see a version of them in the Object-Oriented Features module.

Read more in the Rust Book

Contents