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Rust 101

(A beginner's level material on Rust)

About Rust-101 (Common programming concepts)

Rust-101 is an introductory module that covers the fundamental programming concepts in Rust,many of which are common across most programming languages.

For more advanced or Rust-specific topics, refer to the other modules on this website.

What is Rust?

Rust is a systems programming language focused on performance, safety, and concurrency — without a garbage collector. Originally developed by Mozilla, Rust is now community-driven and known for enabling fast, reliable software.

Key Features of Rust ✅

  • Memory Safety Without GC: Rust uses ownership and borrowing instead of garbage collection to manage memory — preventing null pointers, buffer overflows, and data races at compile time.

  • Zero-Cost Abstractions: High-level features (like iterators, pattern matching, and async/await) come with no runtime overhead — performance is on par with C/C++.

  • Fearless Concurrency: Rust's type system and ownership model make it easier to write concurrent code without data races.

  • Cross-Platform & Open Source: Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and even embedded systems. Backed by a strong and growing open-source community.

  • Rich Tools: cargo (build system and package manager), clippy (linter), and rustfmt (formatter) streamline development.

  • Safe & Fast WebAssembly: Rust is one of the top languages for compiling to WebAssembly, ideal for high-performance web apps.

What Rust is not? ❌

  • Not the Easiest to Learn: Rust has a steep learning curve, especially for developers new to systems programming or unfamiliar with ownership/borrowing concepts.

  • Not Garbage-Collected: While this offers performance and predictability, it also puts more responsibility on the developer to manage lifetimes and references correctly.

  • Not Just for Systems Programming: Rust excels at low-level development (OS kernels, embedded), but it's also increasingly used for web backends, game engines, CLI tools, and more — though it’s not as "batteries-included" as Python or JavaScript for those domains.