Rust Tools

Rust is a modern systems programming language focused on safety, performance, and concurrency. It’s perfect for building everything from command-line tools to web applications and high-performance systems.

Setting Up Rust

Getting started with Rust is straightforward. Follow these steps:

Install Rust: The recommended way to install Rust is via Rustup. Visit Rust’s official website and follow the instructions for your operating system.
Verify Your Installation: Open your terminal and type:
```
rustc --version
cargo --version
```
This should display the installed versions of the Rust compiler (rustc) and Rust’s package manager (cargo).
Choose a Code Editor: Visual Studio Code (VSCode) with the Rust Analyzer extension is a popular choice for Rust development.

Recommended Tools for Rust

Code Editors and IDEs

Visual Studio Code (VSCode): Install the Rust Analyzer extension for features like IntelliSense, code navigation, and debugging.
IntelliJ IDEA: With the Rust plugin, IntelliJ IDEA offers a robust development environment.

Debugging Tools

lldb or gdb: Use these tools for debugging Rust programs on your system.
Integrated Debugging in VSCode: Configure debugging using the CodeLLDB extension.

Package Management with Cargo

Cargo is Rust’s build system and package manager. Use it to create, build, and manage Rust projects.

Create a New Project:
```
cargo new my_project
cd my_project
```
Build and Run Your Project:
```
cargo run
```
Add Dependencies: Add external libraries by editing your Cargo.toml file and running:
```
cargo build
```

Resources and Libraries

Popular Libraries

Tokio: For asynchronous programming.
Serde: For serialization and deserialization.
Actix: A powerful actor framework for web applications.

Documentation

Rust Book: The official guide to learning Rust. Read the Rust Book
Rust API Documentation: Rust Docs
Crates.io: The Rust package registry. Explore Crates.io

Your First Program in Rust

Here’s a simple “Hello, World!” program to get you started:

Create a new project:
```
cargo new hello_world
cd hello_world
```

Edit the src/main.rs file to look like this:

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

Build and run your program:
```
cargo run
```

You should see:

Hello, World!

Rust offers a unique combination of performance and safety. Ready to explore further? Check out our first programming lesson or dive into the Rust Book to deepen your skills!