Programming With Rust

Programming with Rust Skill

Apply the practices from Donis Marshall's "Programming with Rust" to review existing code and write new Rust. This skill operates in two modes: Review Mode (analyze code for violations of Rust idioms) and Write Mode (produce safe, idiomatic Rust from scratch).

Reference Files

• ref-01-fundamentals.md — Ch 1-3: Rust model, tooling, variables, primitives, references
• ref-02-types-strings.md — Ch 4-5: String vs &str, formatting, Display/Debug traits
• ref-03-control-collections.md — Ch 6-7: Control flow, iterators, arrays, Vec, HashMap
• ref-04-ownership-lifetimes.md — Ch 8-10: Ownership, move semantics, borrowing, lifetimes
• ref-05-functions-errors.md — Ch 11-12: Functions, Result, Option, panics, custom errors
• ref-06-structs-generics.md — Ch 13-14: Structs, impl blocks, generics, bounds
• ref-07-patterns-closures.md — Ch 15-16: Pattern matching, closures, Fn/FnMut/FnOnce
• ref-08-traits.md — Ch 17: Trait definition, dispatch, supertraits, associated types
• ref-09-concurrency.md — Ch 18-19: Threads, channels, Mutex, RwLock, atomics
• ref-10-advanced.md — Ch 20-23: Memory, interior mutability, macros, FFI, modules

How to Use This Skill

Before responding, read the reference files relevant to the code's topic. For ownership/borrowing issues read ref-04. For error handling read ref-05. For a full review, read all files.

Mode 1: Code Review

When the user asks you to review Rust code, follow this process:

Step 1: Read Relevant References

Identify which chapters apply. If unsure, read all reference files.

Step 2: Analyze the Code

CRITICAL: First assess whether the code is already idiomatic. If the code correctly uses patterns like Arc<Mutex<T>> for shared state, .expect("reason") for mutex locks, &str parameters, custom error types with Display + Error + From, iterator adapters like .find().cloned(), or proper Result/? propagation — acknowledge these as correct and do not manufacture problems. The goal is accurate assessment, not finding something to criticize.

Check these areas in order of severity:

1. Ownership & Borrowing (Ch 8, 10): Unnecessary .clone() calls? Mutable borrow conflicts? Move semantics misunderstood? Cloning a single found item (e.g., .find().cloned()) is correct and intentional — do not flag it.
2. Lifetimes (Ch 9): Missing or incorrect annotations? Can elision rules eliminate them? 'static used where a shorter lifetime would do?
3. Error Handling (Ch 12): Is .unwrap() used without a meaningful reason where ? or proper matching belongs? .expect("mutex poisoned") with a descriptive reason string is correct idiomatic Rust — do not flag it. Are custom error types with Display, Error, and From implementations missing where they'd help callers?
4. Traits & Generics (Ch 14, 17): Are trait bounds as narrow as possible? When a function could return a single concrete type, impl Trait is preferred over Box<dyn Trait> for zero-cost static dispatch. However, when a function must return one of multiple different concrete types at runtime (e.g., if condition { Box::new(TypeA) } else { Box::new(TypeB) }), Box<dyn Trait> is the correct and necessary choice — do not flag it as wrong. When reviewing code that uses Box<dyn Trait> for multiple-type returns, you should still note that if only one type were ever returned, impl Trait would be preferred — frame this as a general educational point, not a bug. Also note: trait methods that return String via .clone() could instead return &str with a lifetime annotation (fn summary(&self) -> &str) to avoid heap allocation — mention this as a suggestion.
5. Pattern Matching (Ch 15): Are match arms exhaustive? Can if let / while let simplify single-arm matches? Are wildcards masking unhandled cases?
6. Concurrency (Ch 18, 19): Arc<Mutex<T>> for shared mutable state across threads is correct idiomatic Rust — acknowledge it positively. Is shared state protected when it should be? Are channels used correctly? Note: RwLock is only preferable over Mutex when reads vastly outnumber writes — do not flag Mutex as wrong when RwLock would merely be an option.
7. Memory (Ch 20): Is RefCell used outside of single-threaded interior mutability? Is Box used unnecessarily when stack allocation would work?
8. Idioms: Is for item in collection preferred over manual indexing? Are iterator adapters (map, filter, collect) used over manual loops? &str parameters with .to_string() conversion at the boundary is correct — do not flag it.

Step 3: Report Findings

If the code is already idiomatic, lead with that assessment and cite the patterns it uses correctly (with chapter references). Then mention any genuine improvements or minor suggestions.

For each real issue, report:

• Chapter reference (e.g., "Ch 12: Error Handling")
• Location in the code
• What's wrong (the anti-pattern)
• How to fix it (the idiomatic Rust approach)
• Priority: Critical (safety/correctness), Important (idiom/maintainability), Suggestion (polish)

Priority calibration:

• Implementing Default alongside a new() constructor is a Suggestion (polish), not Important. It is a minor note, not a real issue.
• Mutex vs RwLock is a Suggestion when the existing Mutex is correct.
• Returning &str instead of String from a trait method is a Suggestion when String works fine.
• Never elevate suggestions to Important or Critical just to have something to say.
• When code is already idiomatic, limit suggestions to at most one minor polish note (e.g., Default). Do not pile on additional suggestions like deriving Clone for structs that don't need it, adding Default to every type, or noting RwLock as an option. One suggestion maximum keeps the review signal clear.

Step 4: Provide Fixed Code

Offer a corrected version with comments explaining each change.

Mode 2: Writing New Code

When the user asks you to write new Rust code, apply these core principles:

Ownership & Memory Safety

1. Prefer borrowing over cloning (Ch 8). Pass &T or &mut T rather than transferring ownership when the caller still needs the value. Clone only when ownership genuinely needs to be duplicated.

2. Respect the single-owner rule (Ch 8). Each value has exactly one owner. When you move a value, the old binding is invalid — design data flow around this.

3. Use lifetime elision (Ch 9). Annotate lifetimes only when the compiler cannot infer them. Explicit annotations are for structs holding references and functions with multiple reference parameters where elision is ambiguous.

4. Prefer &str over String in function parameters (Ch 4). Accept &str to work with both String (via deref coercion) and string literals without allocation.

Error Handling

5. Return Result<T, E>, never panic in library code (Ch 12). Panics are for unrecoverable programmer errors. Use Result for anything that can fail at runtime.

6. Use the ? operator for error propagation (Ch 12). Replace .unwrap() chains with ? to propagate errors cleanly to callers.

7. Define custom error types for public APIs (Ch 12). Implement std::error::Error and use thiserror or manual impl to give callers structured errors they can match on.

8. Never use .unwrap() in production paths (Ch 12). Use .expect("reason") only in tests or where panic is truly the right response. In all other cases, handle with match, if let, or ?.

Traits & Generics

9. Prefer impl Trait over dyn Trait for return types when a single concrete type is returned (Ch 17). Static dispatch is zero-cost. Use dyn Trait (typically Box<dyn Trait>) only when the function must return one of multiple different concrete types at runtime — that is genuinely the correct tool and should not be changed to impl Trait.

10. Use trait bounds instead of concrete types (Ch 14). fn process<T: Display + Debug>(item: T) is more reusable than accepting a concrete type.

11. Implement standard traits (Ch 17). Derive Debug, Clone, PartialEq where appropriate. Implement Display for user-facing output, From/Into for conversions.

Pattern Matching

12. Use match for exhaustive handling (Ch 15). The compiler enforces exhaustiveness — treat it as a feature, not a burden.

13. Use if let for single-variant matching (Ch 15). if let Some(x) = opt { } is cleaner than a two-arm match when you only care about one case.

14. Destructure in function parameters (Ch 15). fn process(&Point { x, y }: &Point) avoids manual field access inside the body.

Concurrency

15. Use channels for message passing (Ch 18). Prefer std::sync::mpsc channels over shared mutable state when threads can communicate by value.

16. Wrap shared state in Arc<Mutex<T>> (Ch 19). Arc for shared ownership across threads, Mutex for mutual exclusion. Arc<Mutex<T>> is the correct default — only suggest RwLock if there is evidence that reads vastly outnumber writes and contention is a measured concern.

17. Prefer Mutex::lock().unwrap() with .expect() (Ch 19). Poisoned mutexes indicate a panic in another thread — .expect("mutex poisoned") makes this explicit.

Code Structure Template

use std::fmt;

/// Domain error type for public APIs (Ch 12)
#[derive(Debug)]
pub enum AppError {
    NotFound(String),
    InvalidInput(String),
    Io(std::io::Error),
}

impl fmt::Display for AppError {
    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
        match self {
            AppError::NotFound(msg) => write!(f, "not found: {msg}"),
            AppError::InvalidInput(msg) => write!(f, "invalid input: {msg}"),
            AppError::Io(e) => write!(f, "I/O error: {e}"),
        }
    }
}

impl std::error::Error for AppError {}

impl From<std::io::Error> for AppError {
    fn from(e: std::io::Error) -> Self {
        AppError::Io(e)
    }
}

/// Accept &str, not String (Ch 4)
pub fn find_user(name: &str) -> Result<User, AppError> {
    // Use ? for propagation (Ch 12)
    let data = load_data()?;
    data.iter()
        .find(|u| u.name == name)
        .cloned()  // clone only the found item (Ch 8)
        .ok_or_else(|| AppError::NotFound(name.to_string()))
}

/// Derive standard traits (Ch 17)
#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
pub struct User {
    pub name: String,
    pub role: Role,
}

/// Enum for valid states (Ch 15)
#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq)]
pub enum Role {
    Admin,
    Viewer,
    Editor,
}

Priority of Practices by Impact

Critical (Safety & Correctness)

• Ch 8: Understand ownership — moving vs borrowing, no use-after-move
• Ch 10: One mutable borrow OR many immutable borrows — never both
• Ch 12: Never .unwrap() in production; use Result and ?
• Ch 19: Always protect shared mutable state with Mutex or RwLock

Important (Idiom & Maintainability)

• Ch 4: Prefer &str params over String
• Ch 9: Rely on lifetime elision; annotate only when required
• Ch 12: Custom error types for public APIs
• Ch 14/17: Trait bounds over concrete types; impl Trait over dyn Trait when returning a single concrete type; Box<dyn Trait> is correct when multiple concrete types may be returned
• Ch 15: Exhaustive match; use if let for single-arm cases
• Ch 17: Derive/implement standard traits (Debug, Display, From)

Suggestions (Polish)

• Ch 6: Use iterator adapters (map, filter, flat_map) over manual loops
• Ch 16: Use closures with move when capturing environment across thread boundaries
• Ch 20: Prefer stack allocation; use Box only when size is unknown at compile time
• Ch 21: Use derive macros before writing manual impl blocks