Rust Language Cheat Sheet

17. March 2023

Contains clickable links to The Book BK, Rust by Example EX, Std Docs STD, Nomicon NOM, Reference REF.
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Data Structures
Data types and memory locations defined via keywords.

Example Explanation
BK EX STD REF
struct S {} Define a struct with named fields.
     struct S { x: T } Define struct with named field x of type T .

     struct S  ​(T); Define "tupled" struct with numbered field .0 of type T .

     struct S; Define zero sized NOM unit struct. Occupies no space, optimized away.
enum E {} Define an enum, BK EX REF c. algebraic data types, tagged unions.

     enum E { A, B ​(), C {} } Define variants of enum; can be unit- A , tuple- B  ​() and struct-like C{} .
     enum E { A = 1 } If variants are only unit-like, allow discriminant values, REF e.g., for FFI.

     enum E {} Enum w/o variants is uninhabited, REF can't be instantiated, c. 'never' ↓ 🝖
union U {} Unsafe C-like union REF for FFI compatibility. 🝖
static X: T = T(); Global variable BK EX REF with 'static lifetime, single memory location.
const X: T = T(); Defines constant, BK EX REF copied into a temporary when used.
let x: T; Allocate T bytes on stack1 bound as x . Assignable once, not mutable.
let mut x: T; Like let , but allow for mutability BK EX and mutable borrow.2

     x = y; Moves y to x , invalidating y if T is not Copy , STD and copying y otherwise.

1
Bound variables BK EX REF live on stack for synchronous code. In async {} they become part of async's state machine, may reside on heap.
2
Technically mutable and immutable are misnomer. Immutable binding or shared reference may still contain Cell STD, giving interior mutability.

 
Creating and accessing data structures; and some more sigilic types.

Example Explanation
S { x: y } Create struct S {} or use 'ed enum E::S {} with field x set to y .
S { x } Same, but use local variable x for field x .
S { ..s } Fill remaining fields from s , esp. useful with Default::default() . STD
S { 0: x } Like S  ​(x) below, but set field .0 with struct syntax.
S ​ (x) Create struct S  ​(T) or use 'ed enum E::S ​ () with field .0 set to x .
S If S is unit struct S; or use 'ed enum E::S create value of S .
E::C { x: y } Create enum variant C . Other methods above also work.
() Empty tuple, both literal and type, aka unit. STD
 Example Explanation
(x) Parenthesized expression.
(x,) Single-element tuple expression. EX STD REF
(S,) Single-element tuple type.
[S] Array type of unspecified length, i.e., slice. EX STD REF Can't live on stack. *
[S; n] Array type EX STD REF of fixed length n holding elements of type S .
[x; n] Array instance REF (expression) with n copies of x .
[x, y] Array instance with given elements x and y .
x[0] Collection indexing, here w. usize . Implementable with Index, IndexMut.

     x[..] Same, via range (here full range), also x[a..b] , x[a..=b] , … c. below.
a..b Right-exclusive range STD REF creation, e.g., 1..3 means 1, 2 .
..b Right-exclusive range to STD without starting point.
..=b Inclusive range to STD without starting point.
a..=b Inclusive range, STD 1..=3 means 1, 2, 3 .
a.. Range from STD without ending point.
.. Full range, STD usually means the whole collection.
s.x Named field access, REF might try to Deref if x not part of type S .
s.0 Numbered field access, used for tuple types S  ​(T) .
*
For now,RFC pending completion of tracking issue.

References & Pointers

Granting access to un-owned memory. Also see section on Generics & Constraints.

Example Explanation
BK STD NOM REF
&S Shared reference (type; space for holding any &s ).

     &[S] Special slice reference that contains ( address , count ).

     &str Special string slice reference that contains ( address , byte_length ).
     &mut S Exclusive reference to allow mutability (also &mut [S] , &mut dyn S , …).

     &dyn T Special trait object BK reference that contains ( address , vtable ).
&s Shared borrow BK EX STD (e.g., address, len, vtable, … of this s , like 0x1234 ).

     &mut s Exclusive borrow that allows mutability. EX

*const S Immutable raw pointer type BK STD REF w/o memory safety.
     *mut S Mutable raw pointer type w/o memory safety.

     &raw const s Create raw pointer w/o going through reference; c. ptr:addr_of!() STD 🚧🝖
     &raw mut s Same, but mutable. 🚧 Raw ptrs. are needed for unaligned, packed fields. 🝖
ref s Bind by reference, EX makes binding reference type. 🗑️

     let ref r = s; Equivalent to let r = &s .

     let S { ref mut x } = s; Mutable ref binding ( let x = &mut s.x ), shorthand destructuring ↓ version.
*r Dereference BK STD NOM a reference r to access what it points to.

     *r = s; If r is a mutable reference, move or copy s to target memory.

     s = *r; Make s a copy of whatever r references, if that is Copy .

     s = *r; Won't work 🛑 if *r is not Copy , as that would move and leave empty place.
     s = *my_box; Special case🔗 for Box STD that can also move out b'ed content that isn't Copy .
 Example Explanation
'a A lifetime parameter, BK EX NOM REF duration of a flow in static analysis.

     &'a S Only accepts address of some s ; address existing 'a or longer.

     &'a mut S Same, but allow address content to be changed.

     struct S<'a> {} Signals this S will contain address with lifetime 'a . Creator of S decides 'a .
     trait T<'a> {} Signals any S , which impl T for S , might contain address.

     fn f<'a>(t: &'a T) Signals this function handles some address. Caller decides 'a .
'static Special lifetime lasting the entire program execution.

Functions & Behavior

Define units of code and their abstractions.

Example Explanation
BK EX REF
trait T {} Define a trait; common behavior types can adhere to.
trait T : R {} T is subtrait of supertrait BK EX REF R . Any S must impl R before it can impl T .
impl S {} Implementation REF of functionality for a type S , e.g., methods.
impl T for S {} Implement trait T for type S ; specifies how exactly S acts like T .
impl !T for S {} Disable an automatically derived auto trait. NOM REF 🚧🝖
fn f() {} Definition of a function; BK EX REF or associated function if inside impl .
     fn f() -> S {} Same, returning a value of type S.

     fn f(&self) {} Define a method, BK EX REF e.g., within an impl S {} .

struct S  ​(T); More arcanely, also↑ defines fn S(x: T) -> S constructor function. RFC 🝖
const fn f() {} Constant fn usable at compile time, e.g., const X: u32 = f(Y) . '18
async fn f() {} Async REF '18 function transformation, ↓ makes f return an impl Future . STD
     async fn f() -> S {} Same, but make f return an impl Future<Output=S> .

     async { x } Used within a function, make { x } an impl Future<Output=X> .

fn() -> S Function pointers, BK STD REF memory holding address of a callable.
Fn() -> S Callable Trait BK STD (also FnMut , FnOnce ), implemented by closures, fn's …
|| {} A closure BK EX REF that borrows its captures, ↓ REF (e.g., a local variable).
     |x| {} Closure accepting one argument named x , body is block expression.

     |x| x + x Same, without block expression; may only consist of single expression.

     move |x| x + y Move closure REF taking ownership; i.e., y transferred into closure.

     return || true Closures sometimes look like logical ORs (here: return a closure).
unsafe If you enjoy debugging segfaults Friday night; unsafe code. ↓ BK EX NOM REF
     unsafe fn f() {} Means "calling can cause UB, ↓ YOU must check requirements".

     unsafe trait T {} Means "careless impl. of T can cause UB; implementor must check".

     unsafe { f(); } Guarantees to compiler "I have checked requirements, trust me".

     unsafe impl T for S {} Guarantees S is well-behaved w.r.t T ; people may use T on S safely.

Control Flow
Control execution within a function.

Example Explanation
while x {} Loop, REF run while expression x is true.
 Example Explanation
loop {} Loop indefinitely REF until break . Can yield value with break x .
for x in collection {} Syntactic sugar to loop over iterators. BK STD REF
STD
     collection.into_iter() Effectively converts any IntoIterator type into proper iterator first.

     iterator.next() On proper Iterator STD then x = next() until exhausted (first None ).
if x {} else {} Conditional branch REF if expression is true.
'label: {} Block label, RFC can be used with break to exit out of this block. 1.65+
'label: loop {} Similar loop label, EX REF useful for flow control in nested loops.
break Break expression REF to exit a labelled block or loop.

     break 'label x Break out of block or loop named 'label and make x its value.
     break 'label Same, but don't produce any value.

     break x Make x value of the innermost loop (only in actual loop ).
continue Continue expression REF to the next loop iteration of this loop.
continue 'label Same but instead of this loop, enclosing loop marked with 'label.
x? If x is Err or None, return and propagate. BK EX STD REF
x.await Syntactic sugar to get future, poll, yield. REF '18 Only works inside async .

     x.into_future() Effectively converts any IntoFuture STD type into proper future first.
STD
     future.poll() On proper Future then poll() and yield flow if Poll::Pending . STD
return x Early return REF from function. More idiomatic is to end with expression.

     { return } Inside normal {} -blocks return exits surrounding function.

     || { return } Within closures return exits that closure only, i.e., closure is s. function.

     async { return } Inside async a return only REF 🛑 exits that {} , i.e., async {} is s. function.
f() Invoke callable f (e.g., a function, closure, function pointer, Fn , …).
x.f() Call member function, requires f takes self , &self , … as first argument.

     X::f(x) Same as x.f() . Unless impl Copy for X {} , f can only be called once.
     X::f(&x) Same as x.f() .

     X::f(&mut x) Same as x.f() .

     S::f(&x) Same as x.f() if X derefs to S , i.e., x.f() finds methods of S .

     T::f(&x) Same as x.f() if X impl T , i.e., x.f() finds methods of T if in scope.
X::f() Call associated function, e.g., X::new() .
     <X as T>::f() Call trait method T::f() implemented for X .

Organizing Code
Segment projects into smaller units and minimize dependencies.

Example Explanation
BK EX REF
mod m {} Define a module, get definition from inside {} . ↓
mod m; Define a module, get definition from m.rs or m/mod.rs . ↓
a::b Namespace path EX REF to element b within a ( mod , enum , …).
     ::b Search b in crate root '15 REF or external prelude; '18 REF global path. REF 🗑️
     crate::b Search b in crate root. '18

     self::b Search b in current module.

     super::b Search b in parent module.

 Example Explanation
use a::b; Use EX REF b directly in this scope without requiring a anymore.
use a::{b, c}; Same, but bring b and c into scope.
use a::b as x; Bring b into scope but name x , like use std::error::Error as E .
use a::b as _; Bring b anonymously into scope, useful for traits with conflicting names.
use a::*; Bring everything from a in, only recommended if a is some prelude. STD 🔗
pub use a::b; Bring a::b into scope and reexport from here.
pub T "Public if parent path is public" visibility BK REF for T .

     pub(crate) T Visible at most1 in current crate.

     pub(super) T Visible at most1 in parent.

     pub(self) T Visible at most1 in current module (default, same as no pub ).

     pub(in a::b) T Visible at most1 in ancestor a::b .

extern crate a; Declare dependency on external crate; BK REF 🗑️ just use a::b in '18.
extern "C" {} Declare external dependencies and ABI (e.g., "C" ) from FFI. BK EX NOM REF
extern "C" fn f() {} Define function to be exported with ABI (e.g., "C" ) to FFI.
1 Items in child modules always have access to any item, regardless if pub or not.

Type Aliases and Casts

Short-hand names of types, and methods to convert one type to another.

Example Explanation
type T = S; Create a type alias, BK REF i.e., another name for S .
Self Type alias for implementing type, REF e.g., fn new() -> Self .
self Method subject in fn f(self) {} , e.g., akin to fn f(self: Self) {} .

     &self Same, but refers to self as borrowed, would equal f(self: &Self)

     &mut self Same, but mutably borrowed, would equal f(self: &mut Self)

     self: Box<Self> Arbitrary self type, add methods to smart pointers ( my_box.f_of_self() ).
<S as T> Disambiguate BK REF type S as trait T , e.g., <S as T>::f() .
a::b as c In use of symbol, import S as R , e.g., use a::S as R .
x as u32 Primitive cast, EX REF may truncate and be a bit surprising. 1 NOM
1
See Type Conversions below for all the ways to convert between types.

Macros & Attributes

Code generation constructs expanded before the actual compilation happens.

Example Explanation
BK STD REF
m!() Macro invocation, also m!{} , m![] (depending on macro).
#[attr] Outer attribute, EX REF annotating the following item.
#![attr] Inner attribute, annotating the upper, surrounding item.
 
Inside Macros Explanation
REF
$x:ty Macro capture, the :… fragment declares what is allowed for $x . 1
$x Macro substitution, e.g., use the captured $x:ty from above.
$(x),* Macro repetition REF zero or more times in macros by example.
     $(x),? Same, but zero or one time.
 Inside Macros Explanation
     $(x),+ Same, but one or more times.

     $(x)<<+ In fact separators other than , are also accepted. Here: << .
1
See Tooling Directives below for all captures.

Pattern Matching
Constructs found in match or let expressions, or function parameters.

Example Explanation
BK EX REF
match m {} Initiate pattern matching, then use match arms, c. next table.
EX
let S(x) = get(); Notably, let also destructures similar to the table below.

     let S { x } = s; Only x will be bound to value s.x .

     let (_, b, _) = abc; Only b will be bound to value abc.1 .

     let (a, ..) = abc; Ignoring 'the rest' also works.

     let (.., a, b) = (1, 2); Specific bindings take precedence over 'the rest', here a is 1 , b is 2 .

     let s @ S { x } = get(); Bind s to S while x is bound to s.x , pattern binding, BK EX REF c. below 🝖

     let w @ t @ f = get(); Stores 3 copies of get() result in each w , t , f . 🝖

     let (|x| x) = get(); Pathological or-pattern,↓ not closure. 🛑 Same as let x = get(); 🝖
let Some(x) = get(); Won't work 🛑 if pattern can be refuted, REF use let else or if let instead.
let Some(x) = get() else {}; Assign if possible,RFC if not else {} w. must break , return , panic! , … 1.65+ 🔥
if let Some(x) = get() {} Branch if pattern can be assigned (e.g., enum variant), syntactic sugar. *
while let Some(x) = get() {} Equiv.; here keep calling get() , run {} as long as pattern can be assigned.
fn f(S { x }: S) Function parameters also work like let , here x bound to s.x of f(s) . 🝖
*
Desugars to match get() { Some(x) => {}, _ => () } .

 
Pattern matching arms in match expressions. Left side of these arms can also be found in let expressions.

Within Match Arm Explanation

E::A => {} Match enum variant A , c. pattern matching. BK EX REF
E::B ( .. ) => {} Match enum tuple variant B , ignoring any index.
E::C { .. } => {} Match enum struct variant C , ignoring any field.
S { x: 0, y: 1 } => {} Match struct with specific values (only accepts s with s.x of 0 and s.y of 1 ).
S { x: a, y: b } => {} Match struct with any 🛑 values and bind s.x to a and s.y to b .
     S { x, y } => {} Same, but shorthand with s.x and s.y bound as x and y respectively.
S { .. } => {} Match struct with any values.
D => {} Match enum variant E::D if D in use .
D => {} Match anything, bind D ; possibly false friend 🛑 of E::D if D not in use .
_ => {} Proper wildcard that matches anything / "all the rest".
0 | 1 => {} Pattern alternatives, or-patterns. RFC

     E::A | E::Z => {} Same, but on enum variants.

     E::C {x} | E::D {x} => {} Same, but bind x if all variants have it.

     Some(A | B) => {} Same, can also match alternatives deeply nested.
     |x| x => {} Pathological or-pattern,↑ 🛑 leading | ignored, is just x | x , therefore x . 🝖
(a, 0) => {} Match tuple with any value for a and 0 for second.
[a, 0] => {} Slice pattern, REF 🔗 match array with any value for a and 0 for second.
 Within Match Arm Explanation
     [1, ..] => {} Match array starting with 1 , any value for rest; subslice pattern. REF RFC

     [1, .., 5] => {} Match array starting with 1 , ending with 5 .

     [1, x @ .., 5] => {} Same, but also bind x to slice representing middle (c. pattern binding).

     [a, x @ .., b] => {} Same, but match any first, last, bound as a , b respectively.
1 .. 3 => {} Range pattern, BK REF here matches 1 and 2 ; partially unstable. 🚧
     1 ..= 3 => {} Inclusive range pattern, matches 1 , 2 and 3 .

     1 .. => {} Open range pattern, matches 1 and any larger number.
x @ 1..=5 => {} Bind matched to x ; pattern binding, BK EX REF here x would be 1 , 2 , … or 5 .

     Err(x @ Error {..}) => {} Also works nested, here x binds to Error , esp. useful with if below.
S { x } if x > 10 => {} Pattern match guards, BK EX REF condition must be true as well to match.

Generics & Constraints

Generics combine with type constructors, traits and functions to give your users more flexibility.

Example Explanation
struct S<T> … A generic BK EX type with a type parameter ( T is placeholder name here).
S<T> where T: R Trait bound, BK EX REF limits allowed T , guarantees T has R ; R must be trait.

     where T: R, P: S Independent trait bounds, here one for T and one for (not shown) P .
     where T: R, S Compile error, 🛑 you probably want compound bound R + S below.
     where T: R + S Compound trait bound, BK EX T must fulfill R and S .

     where T: R + 'a Same, but w. lifetime. T must fulfill R , if T has lifetimes, must outlive 'a .

     where T: ?Sized Opt out of a pre-defined trait bound, here Sized . ?

     where T: 'a Type lifetime bound; EX if T has references, they must outlive 'a .
     where T: 'static Same; does esp. not mean value t will 🛑 live 'static , only that it could.
     where 'b: 'a Lifetime 'b must live at least as long as (i.e., outlive) 'a bound.

     where u8: R<T> Also allows you to make conditional statements involving other types. 🝖
S<T: R> Short hand bound, almost same as above, shorter to write.
S<const N: usize> Generic const bound; REF user of type S can provide constant value N .
     S<10> Where used, const bounds can be provided as primitive values.

     S<{5+5}> Expressions must be put in curly brackets.

S<T = R> Default parameters; BK makes S a bit easier to use, but keeps it flexible.

     S<const N: u8 = 0> Default parameter for constants; e.g., in f(x: S) {} param N is 0 .

     S<T = u8> Default parameter for types, e.g., in f(x: S) {} param T is u8 .
S<'_> Inferred anonymous lifetime; asks compiler to 'figure it out' if obvious.
S<_> Inferred anonymous type, e.g., as let x: Vec<_> = iter.collect()
S::<T> Turbofish STD call site type disambiguation, e.g., f::<u32>() .
trait T<X> {} A trait generic over X . Can have multiple impl T for S (one per X ).
trait T { type X; } Defines associated type BK REF RFC X . Only one impl T for S possible.
trait T { type X<G>; } Defines generic associated type (GAT), RFC e.g., X can be generic Vec<> . 1.65+
trait T { type X<'a>; } Defines a GAT generic over a lifetime.

     type X = R; Set associated type within impl T for S { type X = R; } .

     type X<G> = R<G>; Same for GAT, e.g., impl T for S { type X<G> = Vec<G>; } .
 Example Explanation
impl<T> S<T> {} Implement fn 's for any T in S<T> generically, REF here T type parameter.
impl S<T> {} Implement fn 's for exactly S<T> inherently, REF here T specific type, e.g., u8 .
fn f() -> impl T Existential types, BK returns an unknown-to-caller S that impl T .
fn f(x: &impl T) Trait bound via "impl traits", BK somewhat like fn f<S: T>(x: &S) below.
fn f(x: &dyn T) Invoke f via dynamic dispatch, BK REF f will not be instantiated for x .
fn f<X: T>(x: X) Function generic over X , f will be instantiated ('monomorphized') per X .
fn f() where Self: R; In trait T {} , make f accessible only on types known to also impl R .

     fn f() where Self: Sized; Using Sized can opt f out of dyn T trait object vtable, enabling trait obj.

     fn f() where Self: R {} Other R useful w. dflt. methods (non dflt. would need be impl'ed anyway).

Higher-Ranked Items 🝖
Actual types and traits, abstract over something, usually lifetimes.
Example Explanation
for<'a> Marker for higher-ranked bounds. NOM REF 🝖

     trait T: for<'a> R<'a> {} Any S that impl T would also have to fulfill R for any lifetime.
fn(&'a u8) Function pointer type holding fn callable with specific lifetime 'a .
for<'a> fn(&'a u8) Higher-ranked type1 🔗 holding fn callable with any lt.; subtype↓ of above.
     fn(&'_ u8) Same; automatically expanded to type for<'a> fn(&'a u8) .

     fn(&u8) Same; automatically expanded to type for<'a> fn(&'a u8) .

dyn for<'a> Fn(&'a u8) Higher-ranked (trait-object) type, works like fn above.
     dyn Fn(&'_ u8) Same; automatically expanded to type dyn for<'a> Fn(&'a u8) .

     dyn Fn(&u8) Same; automatically expanded to type dyn for<'a> Fn(&'a u8) .
1
Yes, the for<> is part of the type, which is why you write impl T for for<'a> fn(&'a u8) below.

 
Implementing Traits Explanation
impl<'a> T for fn(&'a u8) {} For fn. pointer, where call accepts specific lt. 'a , impl trait T .
impl T for for<'a> fn(&'a u8) {} For fn. pointer, where call accepts any lt., impl trait T .

     impl T for fn(&u8) {} Same, short version.

Strings & Chars

Rust has several ways to create textual values.

Example Explanation
REF, 1
"..." String literal, UTF-8, will interpret the following escapes, …
     "\n\r\t\0\\" Common escapes REF, e.g., "\n" becomes new line.

     "\x36" ASCII e. REF up to 7f , e.g., "\x36" would become 6 .

     "\u{7fff}" Unicode e. REF up to 6 digits, e.g., "\u{7fff}" becomes 翿 .

r"..." Raw string literal. REF, 1UTF-8, but won't interpret any escape above.
r#"..."# Raw string literal, UTF-8, but can also contain " . Number of # can vary.
b"..." Byte string literal; REF, 1 constructs ASCII [u8] , not a string.
br"..." , br#"..."# Raw byte string literal, ASCII [u8] , combination of the above.
' 🦀' Character literal, REF fixed 4 byte unicode 'char'. STD
 Example Explanation
b'x' ASCII byte literal, REF a single u8 byte.
1 Debug ↓ Display ↓
Supports multiple lines out of the box. Just keep in mind (e.g., dbg!(x) and println!("{x:?}") ) might render them as \n , while (e.g., println!("{x}") ) renders
them proper.

Documentation
Debuggers hate him. Avoid bugs with this one weird trick.

Example Explanation
1 BK EX REF
/// Outer line doc comment, use these on types, traits, functions, …
//! Inner line doc comment, mostly used at start of file to document module.
// Line comment, use these to document code flow or internals.
/* … */ Block comment. 2 🗑️
/** … */ Outer block doc comment. 2 🗑️
/*! … */ Inner block doc comment. 2 🗑️
1 Tooling Directives outline what you can do inside doc comments.
2
Generally discouraged due to bad UX. If possible use equivalent line comment instead with IDE support.

Miscellaneous
These sigils did not fit any other category but are good to know nonetheless.

Example Explanation
BK EX STD REF
! Always empty never type.

     fn f() -> ! {} Function that never returns; compat. with any type e.g., let x: u8 = f();

     fn f() -> Result<(), !> {} Function that must return Result but signals it can never Err . 🚧
     fn f(x: !) {} Function that exists, but can never be called. Not very useful. 🝖 🚧
_ Unnamed wildcard REF variable binding, e.g., |x, _| {} .

     let _ = x; Unnamed assignment is no-op, does not 🛑 move out x or preserve scope!
     _ = x; You can assign anything to _ without let , i.e., _ = ignore_error(); 1.59+ 🔥
_x Variable binding explicitly marked as unused.
1_234_567 Numeric separator for visual clarity.
1_u8 Type specifier for numeric literals EX REF (also i8 , u16 , …).
0xBEEF , 0o777 , 0b1001 Hexadecimal ( 0x ), octal ( 0o ) and binary ( 0b ) integer literals.
r#foo A raw identifier BK EX for edition compatibility. 🝖
x; Statement REF terminator, c. expressions EX REF

Common Operators
Rust supports most operators you would expect ( + , * , % , = , == , …), including overloading. STD Since they behave no differently in Rust we do
not list them here.

Behind the Scenes

Arcane knowledge that may do terrible things to your mind, highly recommended.
The Abstract Machine
Like C and C++ , Rust is based on an abstract machine.

Overview

Rust → CPU Rust → Abstract Machine → CPU

🛑 Misleading. Correct.

 
With rare exceptions you are never 'allowed to reason' about the actual CPU. You write code for an abstracted
CPU. Rust then (sort of) understands what you want, and translates that into actual RISC-V / x86 / … machine
code.

 
This abstract machine

is not a runtime, and does not have any runtime overhead, but is a computing model abstraction,
contains concepts such as memory regions (stack, …), execution semantics, …
knows and sees things your CPU might not care about,
is de-facto a contract between you and the compiler,
and exploits all of the above for optimizations.

Misconceptions

On the left things people may incorrectly assume they should get away with if Rust targeted CPU directly. On
the right things you'd interfere with if in reality if you violate the AM contract.

 
Without AM With AM
0xffff_ffff would make a valid char . 🛑 AM may exploit 'invalid' bit patterns to pack unrelated data.
0xff and 0xff are same pointer. 🛑 AM pointers can have 'domain' attached for optimization.

Any r/w on pointer 0xff always fine. 🛑 AM may issue cache-friendly ops trusting 'no read can
happen'.
Reading un-init just gives random value. 🛑 AM 'knows' read impossible, may remove all related bitcode.
Data race just gives random value. 🛑 AM may split R/W, produce impossible value, see above.
Null reference is just 0x0 in some register.
🛑 Holding 0x0 in reference summons Cthulhu.

This table is only to outline what the AM does. Unlike C or C++, Rust never lets you do the wrong thing
unless you force it with unsafe . ↓
Language Sugar
If something works that "shouldn't work now that you think about it", it might be due to one of these.

Name Description
Coercions NOM Weakens types to match signature, e.g., &mut T to &T ; c. type conversions. ↓

Deref NOM 🔗 Derefs x: T until *x , **x , … compatible with some target S .

Prelude STD Automatic import of basic items, e.g., Option , drop() , …

Reborrow Since x: &mut T can't be copied; moves new &mut *x instead.

Lifetime Elision BK NOM REF Allows you to write f(x: &T) , instead of f<'a>(x: &'a T) , for brevity.

Method Resolution REF Derefs or borrow x until x.f() works.

RFC
Match Ergonomics Repeatedly dereferences scrutinee and adds ref and ref mut to bindings.

Rvalue Static Promotion RFC 🝖 Makes references to constants 'static , e.g., &42 , &None , &mut [] .

Dual Definitions RFC 🝖 Defining one thing (e.g., struct S(u8) ) implicitly def. another (e.g., fn S ).
 

Opinion 💬 — These features make your life easier using Rust, but stand in the way of learning it. If you want to develop a genuine
understanding, spend some extra time exploring them.

Memory & Lifetimes

An illustrated guide to moves, references and lifetimes.

Types & Moves

  Application Memory ↕️

Application memory is just array of bytes on low level.

Operating environment usually segments that, amongst others, into:
stack (small, low-overhead memory,1 most variables go here),
heap (large, flexible memory, but always handled via stack proxy like Box<T> ),
static (most commonly used as resting place for str part of &str ),
code (where bitcode of your functions reside).
Most tricky part is tied to how stack evolves, which is our focus.

1 For fixed-size values stack is trivially managable: take a few bytes more while you need them, discarded once you leave. However, giving
out pointers to these transient locations form the very essence of why lifetimes exist; and are the subject of the rest of this chapter.

S(1)

t Variables ↕️

let t = S(1);

Reserves memory location with name t of type S and the value S(1) stored inside.
 1

1 ↑

S(1)

a t Moves ↕️

… }
M {

⛔
c Type Safety ↕️
 )
S(3

S(1) S(2)
▼ ▼
t Scope & Drop ↕️

mem::

Call Stack

S(1)

a x Function Boundaries ↕️

fn f(x: S) { … }

let a = S(1); // <- We are here

f(a);

When a function is called, memory for parameters (and return values) are reserved on stack.1
Here before f is invoked value in a is moved to 'agreed upon' location on stack, and during f works like
'local variable' x .

1 Actual location depends on calling convention, might practically not end up on stack at all, but that doesn't change mental model.
 S(1)

a x x Nested Functions ↕️

S(1) M { }

a x m Repurposing Memory ↕️

References & Pointers

▼
 
S(1) 0x3

a r References as Pointers ↕️

let a = S(1);
let r: &S = &a;

A reference type such as &S or &mut S can hold the location of some s .
Here type &S , bound as name r , holds location of variable a ( 0x3 ), that must be type S , obtained via &a .
▼
 
S(2) 0x3 S(1)

a r d Access to Non-Owned Memory ↕️

⛔ M { x }

⛔ 
▼

0x3

a r d References Guard Referents ↕️

▼
 
0x3

p Raw Pointers ↕️
 ↓

Lifetime Basics

"Lifetime" of Things ↕️

Every entity in a program has some (temporal / spatial) room where it is relevant, i.e., alive.
Loosely speaking, this alive time can be1
1. the LOC (lines of code) where an item is available (e.g., a module name).
2. the LOC between when a location is initialized with a value, and when the location is
abandoned.
3. the LOC between when a location is first used in a certain way, and when that usage stops.
4. the LOC (or actual time) between when a value is created, and when that value is dropped.
Within the rest of this section, we will refer to the items above as the:
1. scope of that item, irrelevant here.
2. scope of that variable or location.
3. lifetime2 of that usage.
4. lifetime of that value, might be useful when discussing open file descriptors, but also irrelevant
here.
Likewise, lifetime parameters in code, e.g., r: &'a S , are
concerned with LOC any location r points to needs to be accessible or locked;
unrelated to the 'existence time' (as LOC) of r itself (well, it needs to exist shorter, that's it).
&'static S means address must be valid during all lines of code.

1 There is sometimes ambiguity in the docs differentiating the various scopes and lifetimes. We try to be
pragmatic here, but suggestions are welcome.

2 Live lines might have been a more appropriate term …

▼
 
S(2) 0xa

c r Meaning of r: &'c S ↕️

Assume you got a r: &'c S from somewhere it means:

r holds an address of some S ,
any address r points to must and will exist for at least 'c ,
the variable r itself cannot live longer than 'c .
 ⛔ ▼
 
S(0) S(3) S(2) 0x6

a b c r Typelikeness of Lifetimes ↕️

)
S(4

⛔
▼
 
  0x6

b Borrowed State ↕️

Lifetimes in Functions
 S(1) S(2) ? 0x6 0xa

b c r x y Function Parameters ↕️

S(1) S(2) ?

a b c r Problem of 'Borrowed' Propagation ↕️

 ▼
 
S(1) S(2) y + _

a b c r Lifetimes Propagate Borrowed State ↕️

S(2)

a c Unlocking ↕️
Advanced 🝖
  ▼  ▼
 
S(1) 0x2 0x6 0x2

a ra rb rval References to References ↕️

 S(1)
▼
_ Drop and _ ↕️

↕️Examples expand by clicking.

Memory Layout
Byte representations of common types.

Basic Types
Essential types built into the core of the language.

Numeric Types REF

u8 , i8 u16 , i16 u32 , i32 u64 , i64
u128 , i128 f32 f64

usize , isize

Same as ptr on platform.

 

Unsigned Types

Type Max Value

u8 255

u16 65_535

u32 4_294_967_295

u64 18_446_744_073_709_551_615

u128 340_282_366_920_938_463_463_374_607_431_768_211_455

usize Depending on platform pointer size, same as u16 , u32 , or u64 .

Signed Types

Type Max Value

i8 127

i16 32_767

i32 2_147_483_647

i64 9_223_372_036_854_775_807

i128 170_141_183_460_469_231_731_687_303_715_884_105_727

isize Depending on platform pointer size, same as i16 , i32 , or i64 .

 
Type Min Value
i8 -128

i16 -32_768

i32 -2_147_483_648

i64 -9_223_372_036_854_775_808

i128 -170_141_183_460_469_231_731_687_303_715_884_105_728

isize Depending on platform pointer size, same as i16 , i32 , or i64 .

Float Types🝖

Sample bit representation* for a f32 :

S E E E E E E E E F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F

 
Explanation:
 E-127
2
-126
2

E-1023
2
-1022
2

Casting Pitfalls 🛑

Cast1 Gives Note

3.9_f32 as u8 3 Truncates, consider x.round() first.
314_f32 as u8 255 Takes closest available number.
f32::INFINITY as u8 255 Same, treats INFINITY as really large number.
f32::NAN as u8 0 -
_314 as u8 58 Truncates excess bits.
_200 as i8 56 -
_257 as i8 -1 -

Arithmetic Pitfalls 🛑

Operation1 Gives Note

200_u8 / 0_u8 Compile error. -
200_u8 / _0 d, r Panic. Regular math may panic; here: division by zero.
200_u8 + 200_u8 Compile error. -
200_u8 + _200 d Panic. Consider checked_ , wrapping_ , … instead. STD
200_u8 + _200 r 144 In release mode this will overflow.
1_u8 / 2_u8 0 Other integer division truncates.
0.8_f32 + 0.1_f32 0.90000004 -
 1

1 Expression _100 means anything that might contain the value 100 , e.g., 100_i32 , but is opaque to compiler.
d
Debug build.
r
Release build.

Textual Types REF

char str

… U T F - 8 … unspecified times

Any Unicode scalar. Rarely seen alone, but as &str instead.

Basics

Type Description
char Always 4 bytes and only holds a single Unicode scalar value 🔗.
str An u8 -array of unknown length guaranteed to hold UTF-8 encoded code points.

Usage

Chars Description
let c = 'a'; Often a char (unicode scalar) can coincide with your intuition of character.
let c = '❤'; It can also hold many Unicode symbols.
let c = '❤️'; But not always. Given emoji is two char (see Encoding) and can't 🛑 be held by c .1
c = 0xffff_ffff; Also, chars are not allowed 🛑 to hold arbitrary bit patterns.
1Fun fact, due to the Zero-width joiner (⨝) what the user perceives as a character can get even more unpredictable: 👨‍👩‍👧 is in fact 5 chars 👨⨝
👩⨝👧, and rendering engines are free to either show them fused as one, or separately as three, depending on their abilities.
 
Strings Description
let s = "a"; A str is usually never held directly, but as &str , like s here.
let s = " ❤❤️"; It can hold arbitrary text, has variable length per c., and is hard to index.

Encoding🝖
 2

Custom Types
Basic types definable by users. Actual layout REF is subject to representation; REF padding can be present.
T T: ?Sized [T; n
n]] [T]

T ←T→ T T T … n times … T T T … unspecified times

Sized ↓ Maybe DST ↓ Fixed array of n elements. Slice type of unknown-many elements. Neither
Sized (nor carries len information), and most
often lives behind reference as &[T] . ↓

struct S; (A, B, C) struct S { b

b:: B, c
c:: C }

A B C B C

Zero-Sized ↓ or maybe or maybe

B A C C ↦ B

Unless a representation is forced Compiler may also add padding.

(e.g., via #[repr(C)] ), type layout
unspecified.

Also note, two types A(X, Y) and B(X, Y) with exactly the same fields can still have differing layout; never transmute() STD without representation guarantees.

 
These sum types hold a value of one of their sub types:
enum E { A, B, C } union { … }

Tag A A

exclusive or unsafe or

Tag B B

exclusive or unsafe or

Tag C C

Safely holds A or B or C, also Can unsafely reinterpret

called 'tagged union', though memory. Result might
compiler may squeeze tag be undefined.
into 'unused' bits.

References & Pointers

References give safe access to 3rd party memory, raw pointers unsafe access. The corresponding mut types have an identical data layout to
their immutable counterparts.

&'a T *const T

ptr 2/4/8 meta 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 meta 2/4/8

|
No guarantees.
←T→
(any mem)

Must target some valid t of T ,

and any such target must exist for
at least 'a .

Pointer Meta
Many reference and pointer types can carry an extra field, pointer metadata. STD It can be the element- or byte-length of the target, or a pointer
to a vtable. Pointers with meta are called fat, otherwise thin.

&'a T &'a T &'a [T]

ptr 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 len 2/4/8
| | |

T ←T→ … T T …
(any mem) (any mem) (any mem)

No meta for If T is a DST struct such as Regular slice reference (i.e., the
sized target. S { x
x:: [u8
u8]] } meta field len is reference type of a slice type [T] ) ↑
(pointer is thin). count of dyn. sized content. often seen as &[T] if 'a elided.
&'a str

ptr 2/4/8 len 2/4/8

|

… U T F - 8
…
(any mem)

String slice reference (i.e., the

reference type of string type str ),

with meta len being byte length.

&'a dyn Trait

ptr 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8

| |

←T→ *Drop
Drop::
::drop
drop((&mut T)
(any mem)
size

align

*Trait
Trait::
::f
f(&T, …
…))

*Trait
Trait::
::g
g(&T, …
…))
(static vtable)

Meta points to vtable, where *Drop

Drop::
::drop
drop(() ,
*Trait
Trait:: f() ,
::f … are pointers to their respective
impl for T .

Closures
Ad-hoc functions with an automatically managed data block capturing REF, 1 environment where closure was defined. For example, if you had:

let y = ...;
let z = ...;

with_closure(move |x| x + y.f() + z); // y and z are moved into closure instance (of type C1)
with_closure( |x| x + y.f() + z); // y and z are pointed at from closure instance (of type C2)

Then the generated, anonymous closures types C1 and C2 passed to with_closure() would look like:

move |x| x + y
y..f() + z |x| x + y
y..f() + z

Y Z ptr 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8

Anonymous closure type C1 Anonymous closure type C2

| |

Y Z
(any mem) (any mem)

Also produces anonymous fn such as fc1(C1, X) or fc2(&C2, X) . Details depend on which FnOnce , FnMut , Fn ... is supported, based on properties of captured types.
1
A bit oversimplified a closure is a convenient-to-write 'mini function' that accepts parameters but also needs some local variables to do its job. It is therefore a type (containing the
needed locals) and a function. 'Capturing the environment' is a fancy way of saying that and how the closure type holds on to these locals, either by moved value, or by pointer. See
Closures in APIs ↓ for various implications.

Standard Library Types

Rust's standard library combines the above primitive types into useful types with special semantics, e.g.:
UnsafeCell<
UnsafeCell <T> Cell<
Cell <T> RefCell<
RefCell <T> ManuallyDrop<
ManuallyDrop <T> AtomicUsize

←T→ ←T→ borrowed ←T→ ←T→ usize 2/4/8

Magic type allowing Prevents T::

::drop () from
drop( Other atomic similarly.
Allows T 's Also support dynamic
aliased mutability. being called.
to move in borrowing of T . Like Cell this
and out. is Send , but not Sync .

Option<
Option <T> Result<
Result <T, E> MaybeUninit<
MaybeUninit <T> STD

Tag Tag E Un̥͕͐͞d̛̲͔̦̳̑̓̐e̱͎͒̌fị̱͕̈̉͋ne̻̅ḓ̓

or or unsafe or

Tag T Tag T T

Tag may be omitted for Either some error E or value Uninitialized memory or
certain T, e.g., NonNull . of T . some T . Only legal way
to work with uninit data.

Order-Preserving Collections

Box<
Box <T> Vec<
Vec <T>

ptr 2/4/8 meta 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 capacity 2/4/8 len 2/4/8
| |

←T→ T T … len

(heap) ← capacity → (heap)

For some T stack proxy may carry Regular growable array vector of single type.
meta↑ (e.g., Box<
Box <[T]> ).

LinkedList<
LinkedList <T> 🝖 VecDeque<
VecDeque <T>

head 2/4/8 tail 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 head 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 capacity 2/4/8
| | |

next 2/4/8 prev 2/4/8 T T H

T⁣
… empty …
(heap) ← capacity → (heap)

Elements head and tail both null or point to nodes on Index head selects in array-as-ringbuffer. This means content may be
the heap. Each node can point to its prev and next node. non-contiguous and empty in the middle, as exemplified above.
Eats your cache (just look at the thing!); don't use unless
you evidently must. 🛑

Other Collections
HashMap<
HashMap <K, V> BinaryHeap<
BinaryHeap <T>

bmask 2/4/8 ctrl 2/4/8 left 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 capacity 2/4/8 len 2/4/8
| |

K:V K:V … K:V … K:V T0⁣ T1⁣ T1⁣ T2⁣ T2⁣ … len

Oversimplified! (heap) ← capacity → (heap)

Stores keys and values on heap according to hash value, SwissTable Heap stored as array with 2 N
elements per layer. Each T

implementation via hashbrown. HashSet identical to HashMap , can have 2 children in layer below. Each T larger than its
just type V disappears. Heap view grossly oversimplified. 🛑 children.

Owned Strings

String CString OsString

ptr 2/4/8 capacity 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 len 2/4/8 Platform Defined
| | |

U T F - 8 … len A B C … len … ∅ /
← capacity → (heap) (heap) (heap)

Observe how String differs from &str and &[char].

char] NUL-terminated but w/o NUL in middle. Encapsulates how operating system
represents strings (e.g., WTF-8 on
Windows).

PathBuf

OsString
|

/
(heap)

Encapsulates how operating system

represents paths.

Shared Ownership

If the type does not contain a Cell for T , these are often combined with one of the Cell types above to allow shared de-facto mutability.

Rc<
Rc <T> Arc<
Arc <T>

ptr 2/4/8 meta 2/4/8 ptr 2/4/8 meta 2/4/8

| |

strng 2/4/8 weak 2/4/8 ←T→ strng 2/4/8 weak 2/4/8 ←T→
(heap) (heap)

Share ownership of T in same thread. Needs nested Cell Same, but allow sharing between threads IF contained
or RefCell to allow mutation. Is neither Send nor Sync . T itself is Send and Sync .
Mutex<
Mutex <T> / RwLock<
RwLock <T>

inner poison 2/4/8 ←T→

Inner fields depend on platform. Needs to be
held in Arc to be shared between decoupled
threads, or via scope
scope(() for scoped threads.
Standard Library

One-Liners
Snippets that are common, but still easy to forget. See Rust Cookbook 🔗 for more.

Strings

Intent Snippet
Concatenate strings (any Display ↓ that is). 1 '21 format!("{x}{y}")

Append string (any Display to any Write ). '21 write!(x, "{y}")

Split by separator pattern. STD 🔗 s.split(pattern)

     … with &str s.split("abc")

     … with char s.split('/')

     … with closure s.split(char::is_numeric)

Split by whitespace. s.split_whitespace()

Split by newlines. s.lines()

Split by regular expression.2 Regex::new(r"\s")?.split("one two three")

1
Allocates; if x or y are not going to be used afterwards consider using write! or std::ops::Add .
2 Requires regex crate.

I/O

Intent Snippet
Create a new file File::create(PATH)?

     Same, via OpenOptions OpenOptions::new().create(true).write(true).truncate(true).open(PATH)?

Macros

Intent Snippet
Macro w. variable arguments macro_rules! var_args { ($($args:expr),*) => {{ }} }

     Using args , e.g., calling f multiple times.      $( f($args); )*

Transforms 🔥

Esoterics🝖
Thread Safety
Assume you hold some variables in Thread 1, and want to either move them to Thread 2, or pass their references to Thread 3. Whether this is
allowed is governed by Send STD and Sync STD respectively:

 Mutex<u32>  Cell<u32>  MutexGuard<u32>  Rc<u32> Thread 1

| | | | Thread 2
| | | |
 Mutex<u32>  Cell<u32>  MutexGuard<u32>  Rc<u32>

|
&Mutex<u32> |&Cell<u32> |
&MutexGuard<u32> | &Rc<u32> Thread 3

 
Example Explanation
Mutex<u32> Both Send and Sync . You can safely pass or lend it to another thread.
Cell<u32> Send , not Sync . Movable, but its reference would allow concurrent non-atomic writes.
MutexGuard<u32> Sync , but not Send . Lock tied to thread, but reference use could not allow data race.
Rc<u32> Neither since it is easily clonable heap-proxy with non-atomic counters.
 
Trait Send !Send

Sync Most types … Arc<T> 1,2, Mutex<T> 2 MutexGuard<T> 1, RwLockReadGuard<T> 1

!Sync Cell<T> 2, RefCell<T> 2 Rc<T> , &dyn Trait , *const T 3, *mut T 3

1
If T is Sync .
2
If T is Send .
3
If you need to send a raw pointer, create newtype struct Ptr(*const u8) and unsafe impl Send for Ptr {} . Just ensure you may send it.
Iterators
Processing elements in a collection.

Basics

There are, broadly speaking, four styles of collection iteration:

Style Description
for x in c { ... } Imperative, useful w. side effects, interdepend., or need to break flow early.
c.iter().map().filter() ... Functional, often much cleaner when only results of interest.
c_iter.next() Low-level, via explicit Iterator::next() STD invocation. 🝖
c.get(n) Manual, bypassing official iteration machinery.
 

Opinion 💬 — Functional style is often easiest to follow, but don't hesitate to use for if your .iter() chain
turns messy. When implementing containers iterator support would be ideal, but when in a hurry it can
sometimes be more practical to just implement .len() and .get() and move on with your life.

Obtaining

Basics

Assume you have a collection c of type C you want to use:

c.into_iter() 1 — Turns collection c into an Iterator STD i and consumes2 c . Standard way to get
iterator.
c.iter() — Courtesy method some collections provide, returns borrowing Iterator, doesn't consume c .
c.iter_mut() — Same, but mutably borrowing Iterator that allow collection to be changed.

The Iterator

Once you have an i :

i.next() — Returns Some(x) next element c provides, or None if we're done.

For Loops

for x in c {} — Syntactic sugar, calls c.into_iter() and loops i until None .

1 Requires IntoIterator STD for C to be implemented. Type of item depends on what C was.

2
If it looks as if it doesn't consume c that's because type was Copy . For example, if you call (&c).into_iter() it will invoke .into_iter() on
&c (which will consume a copy of the reference and turn it into an Iterator), but the original c remains untouched.

Creating
 Collection<T> IntoIter<T>

⌾ Iterator
Item = T;

STD

For Loops

Native Loop Support

Many users would expect your collection to just work in for loops. You need to implement:

impl IntoIterator for Collection<T> {} — Now for x in c {} works.

impl IntoIterator for &Collection<T> {} — Now for x in &c {} works.
impl IntoIterator for &mut Collection<T> {} — Now for x in &mut c {} works.

Collection<T> &Collection<T> &mut Collectn<T>

⌾ IntoIterator ⌾ IntoIterator ⌾ IntoIterator

Item = T; Item = &T; Item = &mut T;

To = IntoIter<T> To = Iter<T> To = IterMut<T>

Iterate over T . Iterate over &T . Iterate over &mut T .

As you can see, the IntoIterator STD trait is what actually connects your collection with the IntoIter trait you
created in the previous tab.

Borrowing

Shared & Mutable Iterators

In addition, if you want your collection to be useful when borrowed you should implement:

struct Iter<T> {} — Create struct holding &Collection<T> for shared iteration.

struct IterMut<T> {} — Similar, but holding &mut Collection<T> for mutable iteration.
impl Iterator for Iter<T> {} — Implement shared iteration.
impl Iterator for IterMut<T> {} — Implement mutable iteration.
 Iter<T> IterMut<T>

⌾ Iterator ⌾ Iterator
Item = &T; Item = &mut T;

Interoperability

Iterator Interoperability

To allow 3rd party iterators to 'collect into' your collection implement:

impl FromIterator for Collection<T> {} — Now some_iter.collect::<Collection<_>>() works.

impl Extend for Collection<T> {} — Now c.extend(other) works.

In addition, also consider adding the extra traits from std::iter STD to your iterators:

Collection<T> IntoIter<T> Iter<T> IterMut<T>

⌾ FromIterator ⌾ DoubleEndedIt… ⌾ DoubleEndedIt… ⌾ DoubleEndedIt…

⌾ Extend ⌾ ExactSizeIt… ⌾ ExactSizeIt… ⌾ ExactSizeIt…

⌾ FusedIterator ⌾ FusedIterator ⌾ FusedIterator

Writing collections can be work. The good news is, if you followed all steps in this section your collection will
feel like a first class citizen.

Number Conversions
As-correct-as-it-currently-gets number conversions.

↓ Have / Want → u8 … i128 f32 / f64 String

u8 … i128 u8::try_from(x)? 1 x as f32 3 x.to_string()

2
f32 / f64 x as u8 x as f32 x.to_string()

String x.parse::<u8>()? x.parse::<f32>()? x

1
If type true subset from() works directly, e.g., u32::from(my_u8) .
2
Truncating ( 11.9_f32 as u8 gives 11 ) and saturating ( 1024_f32 as u8 gives 255 ); c. below.
3
Might misrepresent number ( u64::MAX as f32 ) or produce Inf ( u128::MAX as f32 ).

Also see Casting- and Arithmetic Pitfalls ↑ for more things that can go wrong working with numbers.

String Conversions
If you want a string of type …

String

If you have x of type … Use this …

String x

CString x.into_string()?

OsString x.to_str()?.to_string()

PathBuf x.to_str()?.to_string()

Vec<u8> 1 String::from_utf8(x)?

i
&str x.to_string()

&CStr x.to_str()?.to_string()

&OsStr x.to_str()?.to_string()

&Path x.to_str()?.to_string()

&[u8] 1 String::from_utf8_lossy(x).to_string()

CString

If you have x of type … Use this …

String CString::new(x)?

CString x

OsString 2 CString::new(x.to_str()?)?

PathBuf CString::new(x.to_str()?)?

Vec<u8> 1 CString::new(x)?

&str CString::new(x)?

i
&CStr x.to_owned()

&OsStr 2 CString::new(x.to_os_string().into_string()?)?

&Path CString::new(x.to_str()?)?

&[u8] 1 CString::new(Vec::from(x))?

*mut c_char 3 unsafe { CString::from_raw(x) }

OsString

If you have x of type … Use this …

i
String OsString::from(x)

CString OsString::from(x.to_str()?)

OsString x
 1 ?

1 ?

PathBuf

If you have x of type … Use this …

i
String PathBuf::from(x)

CString PathBuf::from(x.to_str()?)

i
OsString PathBuf::from(x)

PathBuf x

Vec<u8> 1 ?

i
&str PathBuf::from(x)

&CStr PathBuf::from(x.to_str()?)

i
&OsStr PathBuf::from(x)

i
&Path PathBuf::from(x)

&[u8] 1 ?

Vec<u8>

If you have x of type … Use this …

String x.into_bytes()

CString x.into_bytes()

OsString ?

PathBuf ?

Vec<u8> 1 x

&str Vec::from(x.as_bytes())

&CStr Vec::from(x.to_bytes_with_nul())

&OsStr ?

&Path ?

&[u8] 1 x.to_vec()
&str

If you have x of type … Use this …

String x.as_str()

CString x.to_str()?

OsString x.to_str()?

PathBuf x.to_str()?

Vec<u8> 1 std::str::from_utf8(&x)?

&str x

&CStr x.to_str()?

&OsStr x.to_str()?

&Path x.to_str()?

&[u8] 1 std::str::from_utf8(x)?

&CStr

If you have x of type … Use this …

String CString::new(x)?.as_c_str()

CString x.as_c_str()

OsString 2 x.to_str()?

PathBuf ?,4

Vec<u8> 1,5 CStr::from_bytes_with_nul(&x)?

&str ?,4

&CStr x

&OsStr 2 ?

&Path ?

&[u8] 1,5 CStr::from_bytes_with_nul(x)?

*const c_char 1 unsafe { CStr::from_ptr(x) }

&OsStr

If you have x of type … Use this …

String OsStr::new(&x)

CString ?

OsString x.as_os_str()

PathBuf x.as_os_str()
 1 ?

1 ?

&Path

If you have x of type … Use this …

r
String Path::new(x)

CString Path::new(x.to_str()?)

r
OsString Path::new(x.to_str()?)

r
PathBuf Path::new(x.to_str()?)

Vec<u8> 1 ?

r
&str Path::new(x)

&CStr Path::new(x.to_str()?)

r
&OsStr Path::new(x)

&Path x

&[u8] 1 ?

&[u8]

If you have x of type … Use this …

String x.as_bytes()

CString x.as_bytes()

OsString ?

PathBuf ?

Vec<u8> 1 &x

&str x.as_bytes()

&CStr x.to_bytes_with_nul()

&OsStr x.as_bytes() 2

&Path ?

&[u8] 1 x
 Other

You want And have x Use this …

*const c_char CString x.as_ptr()

i
Short form x.into() possible if type can be inferred.
r
Short form x.as_ref() possible if type can be inferred.

1
You should, or must if call is unsafe , ensure raw data comes with a valid representation for the string type (e.g., UTF-8 data for a String ).

2
Only on some platforms std::os::<your_os>::ffi::OsStrExt exists with helper methods to get a raw &[u8] representation of the underlying OsStr . Use the rest of the table to go
from there, e.g.:

use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStrExt;
let bytes: &[u8] = my_os_str.as_bytes();
CString::new(bytes)?

3
The c_char must have come from a previous CString . If it comes from FFI see &CStr instead.

4
No known shorthand as x will lack terminating 0x0 . Best way to probably go via CString .

5
Must ensure vector actually ends with 0x0 .

String Output
How to convert types into a String , or output them.

APIs

Rust has, among others, these APIs to convert types to stringified output, collectively called format macros:

Macro Output Notes

format!(fmt) String Bread-and-butter "to String " converter.
print!(fmt) Console Writes to standard output.
println!(fmt) Console Writes to standard output.
eprint!(fmt) Console Writes to standard error.
eprintln!(fmt) Console Writes to standard error.
write!(dst, fmt) Buffer Don't forget to also use std::io::Write;

writeln!(dst, fmt) Buffer Don't forget to also use std::io::Write;

 
Method Notes
x.to_string() STD Produces String , implemented for any Display type.
 
Here fmt is string literal such as "hello {}" , that specifies output (compare "Formatting" tab) and additional
parameters.
Printable Types

In format! and friends, types convert via trait Display "{}" STD or Debug "{:?}" STD , non exhaustive list:

Type Implements
String Debug, Display

CString Debug

OsString Debug

PathBuf Debug

Vec<u8> Debug

&str Debug, Display

&CStr Debug

&OsStr Debug

&Path Debug

&[u8] Debug

bool Debug, Display

char Debug, Display

u8 … i128 Debug, Display

f32 , f64 Debug, Display

! Debug, Display

() Debug

 
In short, pretty much everything is Debug ; more special types might need special handling or conversion ↑ to
Display .

Formatting

Each argument designator in format macro is either empty {} , {argument} , or follows a basic syntax:

{ [argument] ':' [[fill] align] [sign] ['#'] [width [$]] ['.' precision [$]] [type] }

Element Meaning
argument Number ( 0 , 1 , …), variable '21 or name,'18 e.g., print!("{x}") .

fill The character to fill empty spaces with (e.g., 0 ), if width is specified.
align Left ( < ), center ( ^ ), or right ( > ), if width is specified.
sign Can be + for sign to always be printed.
# Alternate formatting, e.g., prettify Debug STD formatter ? or prefix hex with 0x .

width Minimum width (≥ 0), padding with fill (default to space). If starts with 0 , zero-padded.
 STD

STD

'21

STD

rd STD

rd

STD '15 🗑️
'21

STD '21

Tooling

Project Anatomy
Basic project layout, and common files and folders, as used by cargo . ↓

Entry Code
📁 .cargo/ Project-local cargo configuration, may contain config.toml . 🔗🝖
📁 benches/ Benchmarks for your crate, run via cargo bench , requires nightly by default. * 🚧
📁 examples/ Examples how to use your crate, they see your crate like external user would.

          my_example.rs Individual examples are run like cargo run --example my_example .

📁 src/ Actual source code for your project.

          main.rs Default entry point for applications, this is what cargo run uses.

          lib.rs Default entry point for libraries. This is where lookup for my_crate::f() starts.

📁 src/bin/ Place for additional binaries, even in library projects.

          extra.rs Additional binary, run with cargo run --bin extra .

📁 tests/ Integration tests go here, invoked via cargo test . Unit tests often stay in src/ file.
.rustfmt.toml In case you want to customize how cargo fmt works.
.clippy.toml Special configuration for certain clippy lints, utilized via cargo clippy 🝖
build.rs Pre-build script, 🔗 useful when compiling C / FFI, …
 Entry Code
Cargo.toml Main project manifest, 🔗 Defines dependencies, artifacts …
Cargo.lock Dependency details for reproducible builds; add to git for apps, not for libs.
rust-toolchain.toml Define toolchain override 🔗 (channel, components, targets) for this project.
*
On stable consider Criterion.

 
Minimal examples for various entry points might look like:

Applications

// src/main.rs (default application entry point)

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

Libraries

// src/lib.rs (default library entry point)

pub fn f() {} // Is a public item in root, so it's accessible from the outside.

mod m {
pub fn g() {} // No public path (`m` not public) from root, so `g`
} // is not accessible from the outside of the crate.

Unit Tests

// src/my_module.rs (any file of your project)

fn f() -> u32 { 0 }

#[cfg(test)]
mod test {
use super::f; // Need to import items from parent module. Has
// access to non-public members.
#[test]
fn ff() {
assert_eq!(f(), 0);
}
}
Integration Tests

// tests/sample.rs (sample integration test)

#[test]
fn my_sample() {
assert_eq!(my_crate::f(), 123); // Integration tests (and benchmarks) 'depend' to the
crate like
} // a 3rd party would. Hence, they only see public items.

Benchmarks 🚧

// benches/sample.rs (sample benchmark)

#![feature(test)] // #[bench] is still experimental

extern crate test; // Even in '18 this is needed for … reasons.

// Normally you don't need this in '18 code.

use test::{black_box, Bencher};

#[bench]
fn my_algo(b: &mut Bencher) {
b.iter(|| black_box(my_crate::f())); // `black_box` prevents `f` from being optimized
away.
}

Build Scripts

// build.rs (sample pre-build script)

fn main() {
// You need to rely on env. vars for target; `#[cfg(…)]` are for host.
let target_os = env::var("CARGO_CFG_TARGET_OS");
}

*See here for list of environment variables set.

Proc Macros🝖
 proc_macro

proc_macro::

 
Module trees and imports:

Module Trees

Modules BK EX REF and source files work as follows:

Module tree needs to be explicitly defined, is not implicitly built from file system tree. 🔗
Module tree root equals library, app, … entry point (e.g., lib.rs ).

Actual module definitions work as follows:

A mod m {} defines module in-file, while mod m; will read m.rs or m/mod.rs .
Path of .rs based on nesting, e.g., mod a { mod b { mod c; }}} is either a/b/c.rs or a/b/c/mod.rs .
Files not pathed from module tree root via some mod m; won't be touched by compiler! 🛑

Namespaces🝖

Rust has three kinds of namespaces:

Namespace Types Namespace Functions Namespace Macros

mod X {} fn X() {} macro_rules! X { … }

X (crate) const X: u8 = 1;

trait X {} static X: u8 = 1;

enum X {}
 ← 1 →
← 2 →
1

my_mod::

Cargo
Commands and tools that are good to know.

Command Description
cargo init Create a new project for the latest edition.
cargo b uild Build the project in debug mode ( -- r elease for all optimization).
cargo c heck Check if project would compile (much faster).
cargo t est Run tests for the project.
cargo d oc --open Locally generate documentation for your code and dependencies.
cargo r un Run your project, if a binary is produced (main.rs).
     cargo run --bin b Run binary b . Unifies features with other dependents (can be confusing).

     cargo run -p w Run main of sub-workspace w . Treats features more as you would expect.
cargo … --timings Show what crates caused your build to take so long. 🔥
cargo tree Show dependency graph.
cargo +{nightly, stable} … Use given toolchain for command, e.g., for 'nightly only' tools.
cargo +nightly … Some nightly-only commands (substitute … with command below)

     rustc -- -Zunpretty=expanded Show expanded macros. 🚧

rustup doc Open offline Rust documentation (incl. the books), good on a plane!
Here cargo b uild means you can either type cargo build or just cargo b ; and -- r elease means it can be replaced with -r .

 
These are optional rustup components. Install them with rustup component add [tool] .

Tool Description
cargo clippy Additional (lints) catching common API misuses and unidiomatic code. 🔗
cargo fmt Automatic code formatter ( rustup component add rustfmt ). 🔗
 
A large number of additional cargo plugins can be found here.

Cross Compilation
🔘 Check target is supported.
🔘 Install target via rustup target install aarch64-linux-android (for example).

🔘 Install native toolchain (required to link, depends on target).

Get from target vendor (Google, Apple, …), might not be available on all hosts (e.g., no iOS toolchain on Windows).

Some toolchains require additional build steps (e.g., Android's make-standalone-toolchain.sh ).

🔘 Update ~/.cargo/config.toml like this:

[target.aarch64-linux-android]
linker = "[PATH_TO_TOOLCHAIN]/aarch64-linux-android/bin/aarch64-linux-android-clang"

or

[target.aarch64-linux-android]
linker = "C:/[PATH_TO_TOOLCHAIN]/prebuilt/windows-x86_64/bin/aarch64-linux-android21-clang.cmd"

🔘 Set environment variables (optional, wait until compiler complains before setting):
set CC=C:\[PATH_TO_TOOLCHAIN]\prebuilt\windows-x86_64\bin\aarch64-linux-android21-clang.cmd
set CXX=C:\[PATH_TO_TOOLCHAIN]\prebuilt\windows-x86_64\bin\aarch64-linux-android21-clang.cmd
set AR=C:\[PATH_TO_TOOLCHAIN]\prebuilt\windows-x86_64\bin\aarch64-linux-android-ar.exe
…

Whether you set them depends on how compiler complains, not necessarily all are needed.

Some platforms / configurations can be extremely sensitive how paths are specified (e.g., \ vs / ) and quoted.

✔️ Compile with cargo build --target=aarch64-linux-android

Tooling Directives
Special tokens embedded in source code used by tooling or preprocessing.

Macros

Inside a declarative BK macro by example BK EX REF macro_rules! implementation these work:

Within Macros Explanation

$x:ty Macro capture (here a type).
     $x:item An item, like a function, struct, module, etc.
 std::mem::

Documentation

Inside a doc comment BK EX REF these work:

Within Doc Comments Explanation

```…``` Include a doc test (doc code running on cargo test ).

```X,Y …``` Same, and include optional configurations; with X , Y being …

     rust Make it explicit test is written in Rust; implied by Rust tooling.
     - Compile test. Run test. Fail if panic. Default behavior.
     should_panic Compile test. Run test. Execution should panic. If not, fail test.
     no_run Compile test. Fail test if code can't be compiled, Don't run test.
     compile_fail Compile test but fail test if code can be compiled.
     ignore Do not compile. Do not run. Prefer option above instead.
     edition2018 Execute code as Rust '18; default is '15.
# Hide line from documentation ( ``` # use x::hidden; ``` ).

[`S`] Create a link to struct, enum, trait, function, … S .

[`S`](crate::S) Paths can also be used, in the form of markdown links.

#![globals]

Attributes affecting the whole crate or app:

Opt-Out's On Explanation
#![no_std] C Don't (automatically) import std STD ; use core STD instead. REF
 STD REF

REF

REF 🝖
? REF 🝖
REF 🝖
REF 🝖
REF 🝖

REF

🔗🚧
STD REF

#[code]

Attributes primarily governing emitted code:

Developer UX On Explanation
#[non_exhaustive] T Future-proof struct or enum ; hint it may grow in future. REF
#[path = "x.rs"] M Get module from non-standard file. REF
 
Codegen On Explanation
#[inline] F Nicely suggest compiler should inline function at call sites. REF
#[inline(always)] F Emphatically threaten compiler to inline call, or else. REF
Instruct compiler to feel disappointed if it still inlines the function.
#[inline(never)] F
REF

#[cold] F Hint that function probably isn't going to be called. REF

#
F Enable CPU feature (e.g., avx2 ) for code of unsafe fn . REF
[target_feature(enable="x")]

#[track_caller] F Allows fn to find caller STD for better panic messages. REF
#[repr(X)] 1 T Use another representation instead of the default rust REF one:
Use a C-compatible (f. FFI), predictable (f. transmute ) layout.
     #[repr(C)] T
REF

     #[repr(C, u8)] enum Give enum discriminant the specified type. REF
 REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

#[quality]

Attributes used by Rust tools to improve code quality:

Code Patterns On Explanation

#[allow(X)] * Instruct rustc / clippy to … ignore class X of possible issues. REF
#[warn(X)] 1 * … emit a warning, mixes well with clippy lints. 🔥 REF
#[deny(X)] 1 * … fail compilation. REF
#[forbid(X)] 1 * … fail compilation and prevent subsequent allow overrides. REF
#[deprecated = "msg"] * Let your users know you made a design mistake. REF
#[must_use = "msg"] FTX Makes compiler check return value is processed by caller. 🔥 REF
1 💬 There is some debate which one is the best to ensure high quality crates. Actively maintained multi-dev crates probably benefit from more
aggressive deny or forbid lints; less-regularly updated ones probably more from conservative use of warn (as future compiler or clippy
updates may suddenly break otherwise working code with minor issues).

 
Tests On Explanation
#[test] F Marks the function as a test, run with cargo test . 🔥 REF
#[ignore = "msg"] F Compiles but does not execute some #[test] for now. REF
#[should_panic] F Test must panic!() to actually succeed. REF
#[bench] F Mark function in bench/ as benchmark for cargo bench . 🚧 REF
 
Formatting On Explanation
#[rustfmt::skip] * Prevent cargo fmt from cleaning up item. 🔗
 🔗
🔗

🔗
🔗
🔗
🔗
🔗
🔗
🔗
🔗

#[macros]

Attributes related to the creation and use of macros:

Macros By Example On Explanation

#[macro_export] ! Export macro_rules! as pub on crate level REF
#[macro_use] MX Let macros persist past modules; or import from extern crate . REF

 
Proc Macros On Explanation
#[proc_macro] F Mark fn as function-like procedural macro callable as m!() . REF

#[proc_macro_derive(Foo)] F Mark fn as derive macro which can #[derive(Foo)] . REF

#[proc_macro_attribute] F Mark fn as attribute macro which can understand new #[x] . REF

 
Derives On Explanation
#[derive(X)] T Let some proc macro provide a goodish impl of trait X . 🔥 REF

#[cfg]

Attributes governing conditional compilation:

Config Attributes On Explanation

#[cfg(X)] * Include item if configuration X holds. REF
#[cfg(all(X, Y, Z))] * Include item if all options hold. REF
#[cfg(any(X, Y, Z))] * Include item if at least one option holds. REF
#[cfg(not(X))] * Include item if X does not hold. REF
#[cfg_attr(X, foo = "msg")] * Apply #[foo = "msg"] if configuration X holds. REF
 REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

REF

🔥 REF
🔥 REF

build.rs

Environment variables and outputs related to the pre-build script.

Input Environment Explanation 🔗

CARGO_FEATURE_X Environment variable set for each feature x activated.
     CARGO_FEATURE_SERDE If feature serde were enabled.
     CARGO_FEATURE_SOME_FEATURE If feature some-feature were enabled; dash - converted to _ .
CARGO_CFG_X Exposes cfg's; joins mult. opts. by , and converts - to _ .
     CARGO_CFG_TARGET_OS=macos If target_os were set to macos .

     CARGO_CFG_TARGET_FEATURE=avx,avx2 If target_feature were set to avx and avx2 .

OUT_DIR Where output should be placed.

TARGET Target triple being compiled for.
HOST Host triple (running this build script).
PROFILE Can be debug or release .

Available in build.rs via env::var()? . List not exhaustive.

 
 🔗

For the On column in attributes:

C means on crate level (usually given as #![my_attr] in the top level file).
M means on modules.
F means on functions.
S means on static.
T means on types.
X means something special.
! means on macros.
* means on almost any item.

Working with Types

Types, Traits, Generics

Allowing users to bring their own types and avoid code duplication.

Types & Traits

Types

u8 String Device

Set of values with given semantics, layout, …

Type Values
u8 { 0u8, 1u8, …, 255u8 }

char { 'a', 'b', … ' 🦀' }

struct S(u8, char) { (0u8 , 'a'), … (255 , '🦀') }
u8

Sample types and sample values.

Type Equivalence and Conversions

u8 &u8 &mut u8 [u8; 1] String

 u8 u16

u8 u8 u8

u16 u16 u16

&u8 &u8

&mut u8 &mut u8

↑ 2

🔗
2

u8 String Port

impl { … } impl { … } impl { … }

REF

⌾ Copy ⌾ Clone ⌾ Sized ⌾ ShowHex

⌾ Copy

⌾ Sized
 u8 Device Port

impl { … } impl { … } impl { … }

⌾ Sized ⌾ Transport ⌾ Sized

⌾ Clone ⌾ Clone

⌾ Copy ⌾ ShowHex

👩‍🦰 ⌾ Eat 🧔 Venison 🎅 venison.eat()

⌾ Eat

👩‍🦰 ⌾ Eat 🧔 Venison 👩‍🦰 / 🧔 Venison 🎅 venison.eat()

+
⌾ Eat

*
 food::
tasks::

Generics

Type Constructors — Vec<>

Vec<u8> Vec<char>

Vec<u8> is type "vector of bytes"; Vec<char> is type "vector of chars", but what is Vec<> ?

Construct Values
Vec<u8> { [], [1], [1, 2, 3], … }

Vec<char> { [], ['a'], ['x', 'y', 'z'], … }

Vec<> -
Types vs type constructors.

Vec<>

Vec<> is no type, does not occupy memory, can't even be translated to code.
Vec<> is type constructor, a "template" or "recipe to create types"
allows 3rd party to construct concrete type via parameter,
only then would this Vec<UserType> become real type itself.

Generic Parameters — <T>

Vec<T> [T; 128] &T &mut T S<T>

Parameter for Vec<> often named T therefore Vec<T> .

T "variable name for type" for user to plug in something specfic, Vec<f32> , S<u8> , …

Type Constructor Produces Family

struct Vec<T> {} Vec<u8> , Vec<f32> , Vec<Vec<u8>> , …
[T; 128] [u8; 128] , [char; 128] , [Port; 128] …
&T &u8 , &u16 , &str , …
Type vs type constructors.
 [T; n] S<const N>

🧔 Num<T> → 🎅 Num<u8> Num<f32> Num<Cmplx> u8 Port

⌾ Absolute ⌾ Clone

⌾ Dim ⌾ ShowHex

⌾ Mul

?
 u8 f32 char Cmplx Car

⌾ Absolute ⌾ Absolute ⌾ Absolute ⌾ DirName

⌾ Dim ⌾ Mul ⌾ Dim

⌾ Mul ⌾ Mul

⌾ DirName

⌾ TwoD

REF

rd
Advanced Concepts🝖

Trait Parameters — Trait<In> { type Out; }

 
Notice how some traits can be "attached" multiple times, but others just once?

Port Port

⌾ From<u8> ⌾ Deref
type u8;
⌾ From<u16>

 
Why is that?

Traits themselves can be generic over two kinds of parameters:

trait From<I> {}
trait Deref { type O; }
Remember we said traits are "membership lists" for types and called the list Self ?
Turns out, parameters I (for input) and O (for output) are just more columns to that trait's list:
🛑
👩‍🦰 ⌾ A<I> 🧔 Car 👩‍🦰 / 🧔 Car 🎅 car.a(0_u8)

⌾ A<I> car.a(0_f32)

👩‍🦰 ⌾ B 🧔 Car 👩‍🦰 / 🧔 Car 🎅 car.b(0_u8)

type O;
⌾ B car.b(0_f32)
T = u8;

⌾ Query vs. ⌾ Query<I> vs. ⌾ Query vs. ⌾ Query<I>

type O; type O;
👩‍🦰 ⌾ Query → 🧔 PostgreSQL Sled

⌾ Query ⌾ Query

👩‍🦰 ⌾ Query<I> → 🧔 PostgreSQL Sled

⌾ Query<&str> ⌾ Query<T>

⌾ Query<String> where T is ToU8Slice .

↲
👩‍🦰 ⌾ Query → 🧔 PostgreSQL Sled
type O;
⌾ Query ⌾ Query
O = String; O = Vec<u8>;

👩‍🦰 ⌾ Query<I> → 🧔 PostgreSQL Sled

type O;
⌾ Query<&str> ⌾ Query<T>
O = String; O = Vec<u8>;

⌾ Query<CString> where T is ToU8Slice .

↲

O = CString;
 MostTypes vs. Z vs. str [u8] dyn Trait …

⌾ Sized ⌾ Sized ⌾ Sized ⌾ Sized ⌾ Sized ⌾ Sized

Normal types. Zero sized. Dynamically sized.

STD

BK NOM REF

NOM

REF

S<T> → S<u8> S<char> S<str>

S<T> → S<u8> S<char> S<str>

S<'a> &'a f32 &'a mut u8

*
 S<'a> → S<'auto> S<'static>

Examples expand by clicking.

Foreign Types and Traits

A visual overview of types and traits in your crate and upstream.
 bool ⌾ Copy
u8
Builder
⌾From<T>
From<T>
f32 ⌾ ⌾From<T> File

⌾ Deref
u16 char
type Tgt; String

Primitive Types Traits Composite Types

&'a TT
&'a
&'a T
Vec<T>
Vec<T> Vec<T>
Vec<T>
Vec<T> f<T>() {}
PI
&mut 'a
&mut 'a T
&mut 'a TT
drop() {}
[T; n]
[T; n] dbg!
[T; n]

Type Constructors Functions Other

Items defined in upstream cr

T
⌾ Serialize Device String String Port Container TT

⌾ From<u8> ⌾ Serialize ⌾ From<u8> ⌾ From<u8> ⌾ Deref ⌾ ShowHex

⌾ Transport Foreign trait impl. Local trait impl. for 🛑 Illegal, foreign ⌾ From<u16>
Tgt = u8; Blanket impl.
for local type. foreign type. trait for f. type. trait for any ty
Mult. impl. of trait ⌾ Deref
⌾ ShowHex with differing IN
String params.
Tgt = f32;

⌾ From<Port>
🛑 Illegal impl. of
trait with differing
Exception: Legal if OUT params.
used type local.

Your c

Examples of traits and types, and which traits you can implement for which type.

Type Conversions
How to get B when you have A ?

Intro

fn f(x: A) -> B {
// How can you obtain B from A?
}

Method Explanation
Identity Trivial case, B is exactly A .
Computation Create and manipulate instance of B by writing code transforming data.
Casts On-demand conversion between types where caution is advised.
 1

Computation (Traits)

fn f(x: A) -> B {
x.into()
}

Bread and butter way to get B from A . Some traits provide canonical, user-computable type relations:

Trait Example Trait implies …

impl From<A> for B {} a.into() Obvious, always-valid relation.
impl TryFrom<A> for B {} a.try_into()? Obvious, sometimes-valid relation.
impl Deref for A {} *a A is smart pointer carrying B ; also enables coercions.
impl AsRef<B> for A {} a.as_ref() A can be viewed as B .
impl AsMut<B> for A {} a.as_mut() A can be mutably viewed as B .
impl Borrow<B> for A {} a.borrow() A has borrowed analog B (behaving same under Eq , …).
impl ToOwned for A { … } a.to_owned() A has owned analog B .

Casts

fn f(x: A) -> B {
x as B
}

Convert types with keyword as if conversion relatively obvious but might cause issues. NOM

A B Example Explanation
Ptr Ptr device_ptr as *const u8 If *A , *B are Sized .

Ptr Integer device_ptr as usize

Integer Ptr my_usize as *const Device

Number Number my_u8 as u16 Often surprising behavior. ↑

enum w/o fields Integer E::A as u8

bool Integer true as u8

char Integer 'A' as u8

 💬

Coercions

fn f(x: A) -> B {
x
}

Automatically weaken type A to B ; types can be substantially1 different. NOM

A B Explanation
&mut T &T Pointer weakening.
&mut T *mut T -
&T *const T -
*mut T *const T -
&T &U Deref, if impl Deref<Target=U> for T .

T U Unsizing, if impl CoerceUnsized<U> for T .2 🚧

T V Transitivity, if T coerces to U and U to V .
|x| x + x fn(u8) -> u8 Non-capturing closure, to equivalent fn pointer.
 
1
Substantially meaning one can regularly expect a coercion result B to be an entirely different type (i.e., have
entirely different methods) than the original type A .

2 Does not quite work in example above as unsized can't be on stack; imagine f(x: &A) -> &B instead. Unsizing
works by default for:

[T; n] to [T]
T to dyn Trait if impl Trait for T {} .
Foo<…, T, …> to Foo<…, U, …> under arcane 🔗 circumstances.
Subtyping🝖

fn f(x: A) -> B {
x
}

Automatically converts A to B for types only differing in lifetimes NOM - subtyping examples:

A(subtype) B(supertype) Explanation

&'static u8 &'a u8 Valid, forever-pointer is also transient-pointer.
&'a u8 &'static u8 🛑 Invalid, transient should not be forever.
&'a &'b u8 &'a &'b u8 Valid, same thing. But now things get interesting. Read on.
&'a &'static u8 &'a &'b u8 Valid, &'static u8 is also &'b u8 ; covariant inside & .
&'a mut &'static u8 &'a mut &'b u8 🛑 Invalid and surprising; invariant inside &mut .
Box<&'static u8> Box<&'a u8> Valid, Box with forever is also box with transient; covariant.
Box<&'a u8> Box<&'static u8> 🛑 Invalid, Box with transient may not be with forever.
Box<&'a mut u8> Box<&'a u8> 🛑 ⚡ Invalid, see table below, &mut u8 never was a &u8 .
Cell<&'static u8> Cell<&'a u8> 🛑 Invalid, Cell are never something else; invariant.
fn(&'static u8) fn(&'a u8) 🛑 If fn needs forever it may choke on transients; contravar.
fn(&'a u8) fn(&'static u8) But sth. that eats transients can be(!) sth. that eats forevers.
for<'r> fn(&'r u8) fn(&'a u8) Higher-ranked type for<'r> fn(&'r u8) is also fn(&'a u8).

 
In contrast, these are not 🛑 examples of subtyping:
A B Explanation
u16 u8 🛑 Obviously invalid; u16 should never automatically be u8 .
u8 u16 🛑 Invalid by design; types w. different data still never subtype even if they could.
&'a mut u8 &'a u8 🛑 Trojan horse, not subtyping; but coercion (still works, just not subtyping).
 

Variance🝖

fn f(x: A) -> B {
x
}

Automatically converts A to B for types only differing in lifetimes NOM - subtyping variance rules:

A longer lifetime 'a that outlives a shorter 'b is a subtype of 'b .

Implies 'static is subtype of all other lifetimes 'a .
 1

Coding Guides

Idiomatic Rust
If you are used to Java or C, consider these.

Idiom Code
Think in Expressions y = if x { a } else { b };

y = loop { break 5 };

fn f() -> u32 { 0 }

Think in Iterators (1..10).map(f).collect()

names.iter().filter(|x| x.starts_with("A"))

Handle Absence with ? y = try_something()?;

get_option()?.run()?

Use Strong Types enum E { Invalid, Valid { … } } over ERROR_INVALID = -1

enum E { Visible, Hidden } over visible: bool
struct Charge(f32) over f32

Illegal State: Impossible my_lock.write().unwrap().guaranteed_at_compile_time_to_be_locked = 10; 1

thread::scope(|s| { /* Threads can't exist longer than scope() */ });

Provide Builders Car::new("Model T").hp(20).build();

 Idiom Code
Don't Panic Panics are not exceptions, they suggest immediate process abortion!

Only panic on programming error; use Option<T> STD or Result<T,E> STD otherwise.

If clearly user requested, e.g., calling obtain() vs. try_obtain() , panic ok too.

Generics in Moderation A simple <T: Bound> (e.g., AsRef<Path> ) can make your APIs nicer to use.
Complex bounds make it impossible to follow. If in doubt don't be creative with g.

Split Implementations Generics like Point<T> can have separate impl per T for some specialization.
impl<T> Point<T> { /* Add common methods here */ }

impl Point<f32> { /* Add methods only relevant for Point<f32> */ }

Unsafe Avoid unsafe {} ,↓ often safer, faster solution without it.

Implement Traits #[derive(Debug, Copy, …)] and custom impl where needed.

Tooling Run clippy regularly to significantly improve your code quality. 🔥

Format your code with rustfmt for consistency. 🔥
Add unit tests BK ( #[test] ) to ensure your code works.

Add doc tests BK ( ``` my_api::f() ``` ) to ensure docs match code.
Documentation Annotate your APIs with doc comments that can show up on docs.rs.

Don't forget to include a summary sentence and the Examples heading.

If applicable: Panics, Errors, Safety, Abort and Undefined Behavior.

1
In most cases you should prefer ? over .unwrap() . In the case of locks however the returned PoisonError signifies a panic in another thread, so unwrapping it (thus propagating
the panic) is often the better idea.

🔥 We highly recommend you also follow the API Guidelines (Checklist) for any shared project! 🔥
 

Async-Await 101
If you are familiar with async / await in C# or TypeScript, here are some things to keep in mind:

Basics

Construct Explanation
async Anything declared async always returns an impl Future<Output=_> . STD

     async fn f() {} Function f returns an impl Future<Output=()> .

     async fn f() -> S {} Function f returns an impl Future<Output=S> .

     async { x } Transforms { x } into an impl Future<Output=X> .

let sm = f(); Calling f() that is async will not execute f , but produce state machine sm . 1 2

     sm = async { g() }; Likewise, does not execute the { g() } block; produces state machine.
runtime.block_on(sm); Outside an async {} , schedules sm to actually run. Would execute g() . 3 4

sm.await Inside an async {} , run sm until complete. Yield to runtime if sm not ready.
1
Technically async transforms following code into anonymous, compiler-generated state machine type; f() instantiates that machine.
2 The state machine always impl Future , possibly Send & co, depending on types used inside async .
 3

Execution Flow

At each x.await , state machine passes control to subordinate state machine x . At some point a low-level state
machine invoked via .await might not be ready. In that the case worker thread returns all the way up to runtime
so it can drive another Future. Some time later the runtime:

might resume execution. It usually does, unless sm / Future dropped.

might resume with the previous worker or another worker thread (depends on runtime).

Simplified diagram for code written inside an async block :

consecutive_code(); consecutive_code(); consecutive_code();

START --------------------> x.await --------------------> y.await --------------------> READY
// ^ ^ ^ Future<Output=X> ready -^
// Invoked via runtime | |
// or an external .await | This might resume on another thread (next best available),
// | or NOT AT ALL if Future was dropped.
// |
// Execute `x`. If ready: just continue execution; if not, return
// this thread to runtime.

Caveats 🛑

With the execution flow in mind, some considerations when writing code inside an async construct:

Constructs 1 Explanation
sleep_or_block(); Definitely bad 🛑, never halt current thread, clogs executor.
set_TL(a); x.await; TL(); Definitely bad 🛑, await may return from other thread, thread local invalid.
s.no(); x.await; s.go(); Maybe bad 🛑, await will not return if Future dropped while waiting. 2
Rc::new(); x.await; rc(); Non- Send types prevent impl Future from being Send ; less compatible.
1 Here we assume s is any non-local that could temporarily be put into an invalid state; TL is any thread local storage, and that the async {}
containing the code is written without assuming executor specifics.
2
Since Drop is run in any case when Future is dropped, consider using drop guard that cleans up / fixes application state if it has to be left in
bad condition across .await points.

Closures in APIs
STD
There is a subtrait relationship Fn : FnMut : FnOnce . That means a closure that implements Fn also implements FnMut and FnOnce . Likewise a
closure that implements FnMut STD also implements FnOnce . STD

From a call site perspective that means:

 Signature Function g can call … Function g accepts …
g<F: FnOnce()>(f: F) … f() once. Fn , FnMut , FnOnce

g<F: FnMut()>(mut f: F) … f() multiple times. Fn , FnMut

g<F: Fn()>(f: F) … f() multiple times. Fn

Notice how asking for a Fn closure as a function is most restrictive for the caller; but having a Fn closure as a caller is most compatible with any function.

 
From the perspective of someone defining a closure:

Closure Implements* Comment

|| { moved_s; } FnOnce Caller must give up ownership of moved_s .
|| { &mut s; } FnOnce , FnMut Allows g() to change caller's local state s .
|| { &s; } FnOnce , FnMut , Fn May not mutate state; but can share and reuse s .
*
Rust prefers capturing by reference (resulting in the most "compatible" Fn closures from a caller perspective), but can be forced to capture its
environment by copy or move via the move || {} syntax.

 
That gives the following advantages and disadvantages:

Requiring Advantage Disadvantage

F: FnOnce Easy to satisfy as caller. Single use only, g() may call f() just once.
F: FnMut Allows g() to change caller state. Caller may not reuse captures during g() .
F: Fn Many can exist at same time. Hardest to produce for caller.
 

Unsafe, Unsound, Undefined

Unsafe leads to unsound. Unsound leads to undefined. Undefined leads to the dark side of the force.

Safe Code

Safe Code

Safe has narrow meaning in Rust, vaguely 'the intrinsic prevention of undefined behavior (UB)'.
Intrinsic means the language won't allow you to use itself to cause UB.
Making an airplane crash or deleting your database is not UB, therefore 'safe' from Rust's perspective.
Writing to /proc/[pid]/mem to self-modify your code is also 'safe', resulting UB not caused intrinsincally.

let y = x + x; // Safe Rust only guarantees the execution of this code is consistent with
print(y); // 'specification' (long story …). It does not guarantee that y is 2x
// (X::add might be implemented badly) nor that y is printed (Y::fmt may
panic).

Unsafe Code

Unsafe Code

Code marked unsafe has special permissions, e.g., to deref raw pointers, or invoke other unsafe functions.
 Undefined Behavior

Undefined Behavior (UB)

As mentioned, unsafe code implies special promises to the compiler (it wouldn't need be unsafe
otherwise).
Failure to uphold any promise makes compiler produce fallacious code, execution of which leads to UB.
After triggering undefined behavior anything can happen. Insidiously, the effects may be 1) subtle, 2)
manifest far away from the site of violation or 3) be visible only under certain conditions.
A seemingly working program (incl. any number of unit tests) is no proof UB code might not fail on a whim.
Code with UB is objectively dangerous, invalid and should never exist.

if maybe_true() {
let r: &u8 = unsafe { &*ptr::null() }; // Once this runs, ENTIRE app is undefined. Even
if
} else { // line seemingly didn't do anything, app might
now run
println!("the spanish inquisition"); // both paths, corrupt database, or anything
else.
}

Unsound Code

Unsound Code

Any safe Rust that could (even only theoretically) produce UB for any user input is always unsound.
As is unsafe code that may invoke UB on its own accord by violating above-mentioned promises.
Unsound code is a stability and security risk, and violates basic assumption many Rust users have.

fn unsound_ref<T>(x: &T) -> &u128 { // Signature looks safe to users. Happens to be

unsafe { mem::transmute(x) } // ok if invoked with an &u128, UB for practically
} // everything else.

Responsible use of Unsafe 💬

 Do not use unsafe unless you absolutely have to.
Follow the Nomicon, Unsafe Guidelines, always follow all safety rules, and never invoke UB.
Minimize the use of unsafe and encapsulate it in small, sound modules that are easy to review.
Never create unsound abstractions; if you can't encapsulate unsafe properly, don't do it.
Each unsafe unit should be accompanied by plain-text reasoning outlining its safety.

Adversarial Code 🝖
Adversarial code is safe 3rd party code that compiles but does not follow API expectations, and might interfere with your own (safety)
guarantees.

You author User code may possibly …

fn g<F: Fn()>(f: F) { … } Unexpectedly panic.
struct S<X: T> { … } Implement T badly, e.g., misuse Deref , …
macro_rules! m { … } Do all of the above; call site can have weird scope.
 
Risk Pattern Description
#[repr(packed)] Packed alignment can make reference &s.x invalid.
impl std::… for S {} Any trait impl , esp. std::ops may be broken. In particular …

     impl Deref for S {} May randomly Deref , e.g., s.x != s.x , or panic.
     impl PartialEq for S {} May violate equality rules; panic.

     impl Eq for S {} May cause s != s ; panic; must not use s in HashMap & co.

     impl Hash for S {} May violate hashing rules; panic; must not use s in HashMap & co.

     impl Ord for S {} May violate ordering rules; panic; must not use s in BTreeMap & co.

     impl Index for S {} May randomly index, e.g., s[x] != s[x] ; panic.
     impl Drop for S {} May run code or panic end of scope {} , during assignment s = new_s .
panic!() User code can panic any time, resulting in abort or unwind.
catch_unwind(|| s.f(panicky)) Also, caller might force observation of broken state in s .
let … = f(); Variable name can affect order of Drop execution. 1 🛑
1
Notably, when you rename a variable from _x to _ you will also change Drop behavior since you change semantics. A variable named _x will have Drop::drop() executed at the
end of its scope, a variable named _ can have it executed immediately on 'apparent' assignment ('apparent' because a binding named _ means wildcard REF discard this, which will
happen as soon as feasible, often right away)!

Implications

Generic code cannot be safe if safety depends on type cooperation w.r.t. most ( std:: ) traits.
If type cooperation is needed you must use unsafe traits (prob. implement your own).
You must consider random code execution at unexpected places (e.g., re-assignments, scope end).
You may still be observable after a worst-case panic.

As a corollary, safe-but-deadly code (e.g., airplane_speed<T>() ) should probably also follow these guides.

API Stability
When updating an API, these changes can break client code.RFC Major changes ( 🔴) are definitely breaking, while minor changes (🟡) might
be breaking:
 
Crates
🔴 Making a crate that previously compiled for stable require nightly.
🟡 Altering use of Cargo features (e.g., adding or removing features).
 
Modules
🔴 Renaming / moving / removing any public items.
🟡 Adding new public items, as this might break code that does use your_crate::* .

 
Structs
🔴 Adding private field when all current fields public.
🔴 Adding public field when no private field exists.
🟡 Adding or removing private fields when at least one already exists (before and after the change).
🟡 Going from a tuple struct with all private fields (with at least one field) to a normal struct, or vice versa.
 
Enums
🔴 Adding new variants; can be mitigated with early #[non_exhaustive] REF

🔴 Adding new fields to a variant.

 
Traits
🔴 Adding a non-defaulted item, breaks all existing .
impl T for S {}

🔴 Any non-trivial change to item signatures, will affect either consumers or implementors.
🟡 Adding a defaulted item; might cause dispatch ambiguity with other existing trait.
🟡 Adding a defaulted type parameter.
 
Traits
🔴 Implementing any "fundamental" trait, as not implementing a fundamental trait already was a promise.
🟡 Implementing any non-fundamental trait; might also cause dispatch ambiguity.
 
Inherent Implementations
🟡 Adding any inherent items; might cause clients to prefer that over trait fn and produce compile error.
 
Signatures in Type Definitions
🔴 Tightening bounds (e.g., to <T> <T: Clone> ).

🟡 Loosening bounds.
🟡 Adding defaulted type parameters.
🟡 Generalizing to generics.
Signatures in Functions
🔴 Adding / removing arguments.
🟡 Introducing a new type parameter.
🟡 Generalizing to generics.
 
Behavioral Changes
🔴 / 🟡 Changing semantics might not cause compiler errors, but might make clients do wrong thing.
 
Ralf Biedert, 2023 – cheats.rs