Chapter 1 — Getting Started

Quick notes on setting up Rust and running your first programs.

Installation

Install Rust using rustup (the official installer):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Check installation:

rustc --version
cargo --version

Hello World (without Cargo)

Basic Rust program structure:

fn main() {
    println!("I am fever coding");
}

Compile and run:

rustc main.rs
./main

Key points:

  • fn main() is the entry point
  • println! is a macro (note the !)
  • Rust uses semicolons to end statements

Hello World with Cargo

Cargo is Rust's build system and package manager. Much better than manual compilation.

Create new project:

cargo new hello_cargo
cd hello_cargo

This generates:

hello_cargo/
├── Cargo.toml    # Project metadata and dependencies
└── src/
    └── main.rs   # Your code

Cargo.toml example:

[package]
name = "hello_cargo"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2024"

[dependencies]

Build and run:

cargo build      # Compiles to target/debug/
cargo run        # Builds + runs in one command
cargo check      # Fast compile check without executable

Key Takeaways

  • rustc: The Rust compiler (use directly for single files)
  • cargo new: Creates new project with proper structure
  • cargo build: Compiles your project
  • cargo run: Build + execute in one step
  • cargo check: Quick syntax/type checking without full compilation

Use Cargo for everything beyond simple one-file experiments.