Best way to learn Rust
Rust has been the most loved programming language for 7 years straight according to the Stack Overflow survey of 2022.
For this reason, it is understood why a lot of people want to learn Rust. Here is an image of a few quick stats on Rust.
Rust is a general-purpose, meaning you can use it to make different types of projects in different fields.
It is popularly used for building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, webAssembly, and systems programming.
Rust is getting a lot of traction from developers and it is quickly growing in popularity, as of 2022, Rust was the most loved programming language according to a Stack Overflow survey. It is loved by 86.73% of professional developers.
This and other reasons make learning Rust a great investment. There are some best ways that you can follow to learn Rust effectively and quickly. I have outlined the best ways to learn Rust in this article.
These are the guides I use whenever I want to learn a new technology or programming language. If you follow these guides and act on what I have highlighted, you will be able to work with Rust in no time.
Here are the best ways to learn Rust
CHOOSE A PATH
If you want to learn Rust effectively, you must first determine what you want to use Rust for. Rust being a general-purpose programming language means it can be used for more than one purpose.
Rust can be used for building command line tools, network services, embedded systems, webAssembly, systems programming and more.
Although the basics are going to be the same for all these fields, it is important to choose a field that you are going to focus on.
Once you have a defined path, it becomes easy to learn Rust because you will only focus on the technologies and packages that are relevant to your field.
FREE TUTORIALS
Once you have chosen the path you want to take, you can learn more by watching free tutorials online.
For example, if you want to use Rust for network services, you can focus on watching tutorials on network services with Rust.
There are many platforms and channels that offer amazing free Rust tutorials. Youtube is the best platform to find free Rust tutorials.
Channels like FreeCodeCamp, Dcode, Lets Get Rusty, Tech with Tim, Derek Banas, and many others offer free tutorials on Rust and many other programming languages.
You can also work with documentation on the Rust website. Rust is well documented and it is easy to follow and grasp the Rust concepts outline in the documentation.
PRACTICE
Once you familiarize yourself with the fundamental of Rust programming through free tutorials, it’s time to practice what you have learned.
Practice is the best way to gain a deep understanding of Rust. Practice, practice, practice, and practice. This is the best way to learn any technology or programming language.
The more you practice, the more you will know how much progress you are making. Whatever you do, don’t think you will learn Rust by merely watching others work with the language, you need to try it on your own.
You need to work with the language yourself, only then will you be able to know what is missing and what you are getting.
I cannot say this enough, practice, practice, practice, and practice.
BUILD PROJECTS
Building a project is among the best way to practice working with Rust. When you have chosen your path and have learned the basics, use your knowledge to build simple projects, then keep working on them to cement your understanding.
In the process of building projects, you will come up against many challenges and bugs, in the process of solving these challenges, you will gain valuable problem-solving skills that will help you beyond those Rust projects.
TAKE ONLINE COURSES
As you build projects, you take a step further and take an online course or a Bootcamp. These online cases especially those offered by big companies like Udacity, or Coursera will help you gain a unique understanding of industry standards.
You can find many amazing Rust courses for webassembly, systems development, network services, and more on platforms like Udemy, Pluralsight, Alison, and many other platforms.
JOIN ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Another best way to learn Rust is to join online Rust communities. These can be Facebook Groups, forums, subreddits, or platforms like Stack Overflow and Github.
Online communities are important to help you keep up with recent development in your field. They can also help you when you get stuck.
TAKE CHALLENGES AND TESTS
Once you have a certain level of understanding of Rust, it is easy to get comfortable. But you must challenge yourself to work on more advanced concepts than those that you are already comfortable with.
You can begin to work on data structures and algorithms, you can also participate in online challenges, hackathons, and tests.
These challenges will help you to develop different ways of approaching and solving problems.
You can find different types of challenges and Hackathons in different fields on Devpost. Devpost is a home of hackathons, by participating in these hackathons, you can win amazing prizes and open up many windows of opportunities.
READ BOOKS
Reading Rust and programming books is another best way to learn Rust. In my article Should Programmers Read Books, I highlighted the best kinds of books that programmers should read.
Reading books has many great benefits for programmers. It will help you to increase your level of focus and engage your brain in a great mental exercise.
IS RUST EASY TO LEARN
Rust is generally easy to learn compared to other high-performance and system languages like C++. Rust is easy to pick up even for complete beginners.
When you are targeting low-resource devices, Rust will give you low-level control without giving up high-level conveniences, this makes Rust much easy to work with than other low-level languages.
CONCLUSION
Investing in learning Rust is a great way to start your career in systems development. Rust is growing very fast and many Rust software engineers around the world get high salaries.
Whatever you do, make sure to practice and build projects, this is among the best ways to learn Rust. You should also challenge yourself to learn advanced concepts that may be outside your comfort zone.