Finally, we can make our own types (or data structures)!!


This is supplementary/separate from the Twitch Streams (see sidebar for links), intended for discussion here on lemmy.

The idea being, now that both twitch streams have read Chapters 5 and 6, we can have a discussion here and those from the twitch streams can have a retrospective or re-cap on the topic.

This will be a regular occurrence for each discrete set of topics coming out of The Book as the twitch streams cover them


With Ch 4 on the borrow checker out of the way, chapters 5 & 6 feel like the “inflection point” … the point where we’re ready to actually start programming in rust.

Custom types, data structures, objects with methods, pattern matching, and even dipping into rust’s traits system and it’s quasi answer to class inheritance.

If you’re comfortable enough with the borrow checker, you can really start to program with rust now!


I personally didn’t think this content was difficult, though it prompts some interesting points and topics (which I’ll mention in my own comment below).

  • Any thoughts, difficulties or confusions?
  • Any quizzes stump you?
  • Any major tips or rules of thumb you’ve taken away or generally have about using structs and enums?
  • maegul (he/they)@lemmy.mlOPM
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    6 months ago

    Personally, I find this incredibly elegant

    I’m not entirely sure I understand exactly what you mean here.

    Do you appreciate it as an implementation design for the language (I do too)?

    Or do you see some utility in being able to call MyStruct::my_method(&my_var)

    … or both, cuz there’s something assuring in knowing the simple pattern underneath the syntactic sugar is there?

    • Jayjader@jlai.luM
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      6 months ago

      Bit of both, I suppose. Along with my own experience trying to deal with prototypes in JavaScript and how Python handles methods vs “bare” functions internally in terms of v-tables and “where” things exist in memory.

      I imagine the fact that both of those are interpreted languages plays somewhat heavily into it.

      With regards to being able to write MyStruct::my_method(&my_var), it’s the one-two punch of “I can use that specific syntax to differentiate between ‘inherited’ methods that have the same name” and that the compiler doesn’t treat .method() calls any differently and just rewrites them as such when doing it’s job.

      • maegul (he/they)@lemmy.mlOPM
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        6 months ago

        I imagine the fact that both of those are interpreted languages plays somewhat heavily into it.

        Yea I’d imagine so too.