Getting Started with Rust in 2024

Last year, I started learning Rust. It was a vastly different experience compared to the last time I learned a programming language. It has been far more fun and rapid.

My Recipe to Learn Rust

If you're a seasoned developer, start by reading A Half-Hour to Learn Rust. It provides a concise list of concepts that Rust adopts and builds upon. With this, you will gain a comprehensive view of Rust.

Then, dive into Rustlings to start writing some code. It introduces the main concepts and syntax through one challenge at a time. You will write code and make the tests pass. It's practical and enjoyable.

If you enjoy coding challenges, exercises, and algorithms, then proceed with Exercism. Here, you can build muscle memory by working in your IDE and making the tests pass.

However, as soon as you feel confident, it's crucial to start building real projects. With Codecrafters, you will develop real projects, such as a web server, a git client, a database, a BitTorrent client, etc. This experience taught me how to create truly cool applications that parse CLI parameters, read and write files, make HTTP requests, and work directly with bytes. It's a paid resource, but it's worth it.

For additional resources, you can check this article.

Learning Rust has deepened my understanding of how a computer works, a subject I had not focused on while working in the app space on web and mobile. I cannot express how intriguing this journey has been so far. It's made me feel like a teenager discovering computers all over again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.