The Rust programming language is growing in popularity, delivering the performance of C and C++ but with less chance of running into problems. This ebook offers a look at the pros and cons of Rust and how it’s being used, along with a comprehensive list of resources that will help you get started or further enhance your Rust programming skills.

From the ebook:

Rust is a programming language that offers the performance of C and C++ but with safeguards to stop developers from shooting themselves in the foot.

Born out of a personal project by then Mozilla developer Graydon Hoare in 2006, the language, like the Rust fungus it is named after, is starting to spread, and today it’s used to build software for the web, embedded computers, distributed services, and the command line.

“The biggest strength of Rust is that it’s an empowering technology,” said Carol Nichols, from the Rust programming language core team and co-author of The Rust Programming Language book.

“To write extremely fast code with a low memory footprint previously meant using C or C++. However, using those languages in production code requires you to manage memory manually and know all the ways you might cause undefined behavior.”

Nichols said that the ever-expanding CVE database of code vulnerabilities is evidence that “even the best programmers” can struggle with this level of freedom.

“The Rust compiler is stricter and makes sure you’re using memory safely so that you can concentrate on the problem you’re really trying to solve.”