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Practical System Programming for Rust Developers
Practical System Programming for Rust Developers

Practical System Programming for Rust Developers: Build fast and secure software for Linux/Unix systems with the help of practical examples

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Practical System Programming for Rust Developers

Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade – Rust Toolchains and Project Structures

Rust, as a modern systems programming language, has many inherent characteristics that make it easier to write safe, reliable, and performant code. Rust also has a compiler that enables a relatively fearless code refactoring experience as a project grows in size and complexity. But any programming language in itself is incomplete without the toolchains that support the software development life cycle. After all, where would software engineers be without their tools?

This chapter specifically discusses the Rust toolchain and its ecosystem, and techniques to structure code within Rust projects to write safe, testable, performant, documented, and maintainable code that is also optimized to run in the intended target environment.

The following are the key learning outcomes for this chapter:

  • Choosing the right configuration of Rust for your project
  • Cargo introduction and project structure
  • Cargo build management
  • Cargo dependencies
  • Writing test scripts and doing automated unit and integration testing
  • Automating the generation of technical documentation

By the end of this chapter, you will have learned how to select the right project type and toolchain; organize project code efficiently; add external and internal libraries as dependencies; build the project for development, test, and production environments; automate testing; and generate documentation for your Rust code.

Technical requirements

Rustup must be installed in the local development environment. Use this link for installation: https://github.com/rust-lang/rustup.

Refer to the following link for official installation instructions: https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install.

After installation, check rustc, and cargo have been installed correctly with the following commands:

rustc --version 
cargo --version

You must have access to any code editor of your choice.

Some of the code and commands in this chapter, especially those related to shared libraries and setting paths, require a Linux system environment. It is recommended to install a local virtual machine such as VirtualBox or equivalent with a Linux installation for working with the code in this chapter. Instructions to install VirtualBox can be found at https://www.virtualbox.org.

The Git repo for the examples in this chapter can be found at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Practical-System-Programming-for-Rust-Developers/tree/master/Chapter01.

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Key benefits

  • Learn techniques to design and build system tools and utilities in Rust
  • Explore the different features of the Rust standard library for interacting with operating systems
  • Gain an in-depth understanding of the Rust programming language by writing low-level software

Description

Modern programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, and Java have become increasingly accepted for application-level programming, but for systems programming, C and C++ are predominantly used due to the need for low-level control of system resources. Rust promises the best of both worlds: the type safety of Java, and the speed and expressiveness of C++, while also including memory safety without a garbage collector. This book is a comprehensive introduction if you’re new to Rust and systems programming and are looking to build reliable and efficient systems software without C or C++. The book takes a unique approach by starting each topic with Linux kernel concepts and APIs relevant to that topic. You’ll also explore how system resources can be controlled from Rust. As you progress, you’ll delve into advanced topics. You’ll cover network programming, focusing on aspects such as working with low-level network primitives and protocols in Rust, before going on to learn how to use and compile Rust with WebAssembly. Later chapters will take you through practical code examples and projects to help you build on your knowledge. By the end of this Rust programming book, you will be equipped with practical skills to write systems software tools, libraries, and utilities in Rust.

Who is this book for?

This book is for developers with basic knowledge of Rust but little to no knowledge or experience of systems programming. System programmers who want to consider Rust as an alternative to C or C++ will also find this book useful.

What you will learn

  • Gain a solid understanding of how system resources are managed
  • Use Rust confidently to control and operate a Linux or Unix system
  • Understand how to write a host of practical systems software tools and utilities
  • Delve into memory management with the memory layout of Rust programs
  • Discover the capabilities and features of the Rust Standard Library
  • Explore external crates to improve productivity for future Rust programming projects

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Dec 24, 2020
Length: 388 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800562011
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Product Details

Publication date : Dec 24, 2020
Length: 388 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800562011
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Table of Contents

16 Chapters
Section 1: Getting Started with System Programming in Rust Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade – Rust Toolchains and Project Structures Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: A Tour of the Rust Programming Language Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Introduction to the Rust Standard Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Managing Environment, Command Line, and Time Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 2: Managing and Controlling System Resources in Rust Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Memory Management in Rust Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Working with Files and Directories in Rust Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Implementing Terminal I/O in Rust Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Working with Processes and Signals Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Managing Concurrency Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Section 3: Advanced Topics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Working with Device I/O Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Learning Network Programming Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 12: Writing Unsafe Rust and FFI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.6
(5 Ratings)
5 star 80%
4 star 0%
3 star 20%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
David Golembiowski Apr 17, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
If you can get through the first 30-40 pages of the book, things really start to get interesting. Reading it is like going to a really engaging lecture from my university.The author does a great job varying the levels of abstraction/concreteness so it doesn't feel monotonous, and as a result the reader gets to peel back layers of mystery one paragraph after another.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Pookabel Jun 07, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Early on in my software career, I mentor suggested that I should try to learn a new language or skill every year. I can't say I have made it every year, but I do try to keep learning, and it has helped me stay on top of my career.Rust has been one of those languages I have seen around, but knew nothing about. When someone suggested I read this book, I thought they were crazy. I was sure it would expect some experience with Rust. I was happily surprised when I started reading it.I will admit that because of some other commitments that came up, I still haven't finished the book, but I am very sure that finishing it is not going to change the review. I have been really enjoying when I get a chance to continue reading it. The book does a very good job of introducing Rust to software developers who have not used it before. The author does it without talking down to them. I would definitely recommend it to others who want to learn what Rust can do.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Rafi Dudekula Mar 05, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I have been looking for a Rust book that gently guides an application programmer like me to understand and implement several systems programs. This book is not for beginners, since it assumes intermediate-level familiarity with Rust language.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Doctor Jest Jul 25, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Most non-bare-metal coding for systems is done in C or C++, but Rust is proving a promising substitute (it still needs a bit to completely replace C/C++). This book helps someone who's done the intro to Rust work and knows the language a bit, and wants to dip their toe in system programming with Rust instead of C.It's a concise well-written book by people who know what systems programming is. I recommend it, but like I said before, Rust still has a bit more to go before replacing C/C++. (It's not a bad language, it's just very new and needs to grow more and after feature-building, focus on stability. C and C++ have decades of a head start in stability and optimized compilers.)It's not a book to teach you Rust, but it will give you that "next step" needed to see where you might want to use Rust in your own environment.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Keith Russell May 30, 2021
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
I have already read "Programming Rust" https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B077NSY211/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title. That book assumes knowledge of systems programming (of which I have some) but no Rust. I thought after going through that and learning Rust I'd see how some of the low level stuff is done. To my disappointment "Practical Systems Programming" didn't teach me anything new.Several of the examples were almost the same as "Programming Rust" especially the networking stuff. The description said this would have WebAssembly but the Kindle version, at least, does not. Despite this book being written very recently it completely skips over async programming (another reason I was interested in a current book). That alone made me want a refund. The book also explicitly does not look at any form of embedded programming. Instead the focus is purely on higher level command line programs and one network server example.The author also has a very annoying style of stating the obvious. Every section or example ends with "This concludes X". Well, yes, it does since the next line of the book is a new chapter heading so I can figure that out for myself, thanks. Honestly I think if you added up those and the corresponding recaps at the start of the very next section (a recap for the topic that was introduced on the previous page!) you'd end up with about 10 pages worth of useless content.It seems like the examples are not well explained. Frequently the code is given with almost no explanatory text. It reads more like a cookbook style which, frankly, isn't what I paid for.If you know nothing at all about systems programming this is (as one reviewer put it) a gentle introduction. Do not assume, however, that you learn much about any advanced topics. If you approach it as introductory and don't expect too much you'll be fine. For anyone who has already done some systems programming you'd be better off with a different book.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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