(go mod has a long way to go)Starting a new Rust executable application:cargo new –bin project_nameStarting a new Rust library:cargo new –lib project_nameIn case of a binary project, Cargo would have automatically created a main.
rs file inside your src/ folder.
In case of a library project, it would have created a lib.
rs file.
You can configure all project related settings in Cargo.
toml like the following sample:[package]name = "aco_rust"version = "0.
1.
0"authors = ["raja"]edition = "2018"[dependencies]memmap = "0.
7.
0"serde_derive = "1.
0.
84"fnv = "1.
0.
6"byteorder = "1.
2.
7"serde = "1.
0.
89"rustbreak = "1.
4.
0"rand = "0.
6.
5"rayon = "1.
0.
3"permutation = "0.
2.
5"[profile.
release]debug = trueRust project is called crate.
You can publish your crate to https://crates.
io/ which is similar to Python’s PyPI.
Building a Cargo Project:I will come out and say at the beginning itself, Rust’s compile time is very slow.
It has excellent incremental compilation though.
So here is what I generally do for my project.
I try to list down all possible dependencies in Cargo.
toml file and let all of the following commands run and meanwhile start working on the project.
cargo checkcargo buildcargo build –releaseDepending on the number of dependencies, it can take quite a while.
From next time onwards, when you change something in your project, only those changes will be compiled, thereby reducing the build time significantly.
So what do those commands do?cargo check — > It checks code correctness without actually building the code.
It is very fast and can be used to check whether our code is correct or not while we are developing.
As you will see in the following articles, reading compiler error codes is an integral part of writing Rust project.
Rust is very unique in this regard.
Unlike most languages where we dread the compiler, Rust compiler is our companion.
We rely on it too much.
So this command speeds up our workflow a lot.
cargo build — > It compiles the code without any optimization.
It is called the debug mode.
It is helpful in debugging stage where you don’t care about the speed of the program but want to check whether our code is working as intended.
Beware, Debug executable is as slow as molasses compared to release mode.
Please don’t measure the performance of Rust code in this mode.
You will be really disappointed.
cargo build –release — > It compiles the code with optimizations enabled.
Depending on applications, I have seen the difference to be as high as 30X compared to debug mode.
Release mode compilation is very slow compared to the above two options.
So typically, you invoke it when you are done with the whole project and want to measure the performance or for shipping it to production.
Both debug and release mode executables are stored inside their respective folders target/debug/project_name and target/release/project_name.
The above-mentioned method produces dynamically linked executable which means it will run only on machines similar to your machine and OS since it has the dependency of a particular system’s libc.
To produce fully static binaries which you can run on any machine, do the following.
rustup target add x86_64-unknown-linux-muslFor nightly version,rustup target add x86_64-unknown-linux-musl –toolchain=nightlyBuild the statically linked binary:cargo build –release –target x86_64-unknown-linux-muslThe resulting binary is completely portable.
Now you can take the binary and run it on any Linux based machine.
Refer the following GitHub project if you want to build docker images of static Rust binaries.
emk/rust-musl-builderDocker images for compiling static Rust binaries using musl-libc and musl-gcc, with static versions of useful C…github.
comIDEs:Vim + Tmux = ❤I am most at home in Vim.
Tmux and Vim satisfy most of my needs while working on a new project.
Technically I use NeoVim.
This is how my typical environment looks like:NeoVim with Rust pluginsTmux + Vim -> My Typical Rust EnvironmentRust has a language server called RLS.
It integrates well enough with vim plugin “ale”.
It provides some functionalities like jump to definition, formatting the code, code completion, basic refactoring,etc.
, It also checks your code for error as you write the code.
Install the following cargo tools.
rustup component add rustfmtrustup component add rls rust-analysis rust-srccargo +nightly install racerIf you are using Vundle plug-in manager, adding the following to your vimrc or nvim/init.
vim will setup the Rust environment for Vim/NeoVim.
Plugin 'racer-rust/vim-racer'Plugin 'rust-lang/rust.
vim'Plugin 'w0rp/ale'" change the bin path as your system settingslet g:racer_cmd = "/home/raja/.
cargo/bin/racer" let g:racer_experimental_completer = 1let g:ale_python_auto_pipenv=1let b:ale_linters = { ‘python’: [‘pylint’], ‘rust’: [‘rustup’, ‘run’, ‘nightly’, ‘rls’], ‘go’: [‘go-langserver’] }Clippy:Clippy is Rust linter.
While you are in learning phase, Clippy is extremely helpful.
It identifies common mistakes and provides suggestions for modifying your code.
Install clippy using the following command:rustup component add clippy You can run Clippy inside your project folder as follows:cargo clippyYou can find all the Clippy lints here.
While this is enough for me most of the times, most developers prefer to use IDEs.
There are good reasons for that.
When projects become big enough, IDEs become more convenient when working with many developers.
Vim + RLS can at sometimes become unreliable and buggy as the project size grows.
Refactoring is also another major hindrance as far as I have observed in Vim.
VS-Code:While technically not an IDE, it generally provides a good experience for me.
It also utilizes rust-rls to provide typical IDE experience.
So it can also be buggy sometimes.
All you have to do is to install official Rust (rls) plugin.
You are good to go.
VSCode also provides debugging functionality using CodeLLDB.
To debug Rust programs, install the following extensions.
CodeLLDBC/C++ extensionChange the program field in launch.
json to your debug binary as follows.
"configurations": [ { "name": "(gdb) Launch", "type": "lldb", "request": "launch", "program": "path_to_your_project/target/debug/project_name", "args": [], "sourceLanguages": ["rust"], "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}", "environment": [], "externalConsole": true, "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb", "text": "-enable-pretty-printing", "ignoreFailures": true } ] } ]Rust in VSCodeIntelliJ Rust:This is by far the most reliable IDE for Rust based on my experience.
Code completion, jump to definition, refactoring, on the fly error analysis,etc.
, all work very well and it’s butter smooth.
However, debugging is available only on CLion(paid version).
You have to install Rust-plugin and it just works.
IntelliJ RustSo overall, for a relatively small personal project, I tend to use Vim mostly.
For large projects, I tend to use IntelliJ Rust while developing and use VSCode while debugging.
Extras:Always format the Rust code using rustfmt before publishing it to GitHub.
Just run cargo fmt inside your project directory.
Cargo watch — to run tests(and other cargo commands) when some code changes.
Cargo outdated — to display out of date dependencies.
.