Last time we used cargo new to generate a new Rust app. Let's take a look inside.

Run tree to print the directory structure.

.
├── Cargo.lock
├── Cargo.toml
└── src
    └── main.rs

There's also a hidden dotfile .gitignore and the .git folder, but don't worry about those for now.

The Cargo.lock file is generated by Cargo by cargo run and it's for dependency tracking and that's Cargo's problem.

The two important files are Cargo.toml and src/main.rs.

# Cargo.toml

[package]
name = "hello"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"

# See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html

[dependencies]

Cargo.toml is our project's manifest, where we keep track of stuff about the project in TOML format and also any dependencies we want to use. Currently there's none!

Name and version are pretty self-explanatory. The edition key is for specifying which edition of Rust we want to use ie. latest stable edition, 2021.

The src/main.rs file is our entry point.

// src/main.rs

fn main() {
    println!("Hello, world!");
}

When compiling, Rust will look for the src/main.rs file with a main function inside. Functions in Rust are defined with the fn keyword.

If Rust finds a src/lib.rs file it will build a "library", which can be used as a dependency inside another app instead of a standalone binary app. (We can also have both apparently. But we'll get to that later.)

To print "Hello, world!" to the console we use the println! macro, which is built-in to Rust. Macros are kinda like functions that expand into other functions at compile time. They have a ! at the end. For now, you just need to know that println!() prints stuff to the console.

Aaaaaand that's just about it. Let's edit some code. We can make the computer say whatever we want!

println!("Crab party time! 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀");

Do another cargo run and give us a little happy dance.

Nice. Until next time!

You can't fight nature.

We're learning Rust OK? Evolution time. Let's gooooo!

First up, install Rust.

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

That will give you rustc and cargo and rustup and other stuff.

Let's make a new project and scuttle into the directory.

cargo new hello
cd hello

Run the project.

cargo run

You just ran your first Hello World program in Rust.

Crab party time! 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀