Book Image

Practical System Programming for Rust Developers

By : Prabhu Eshwarla
Book Image

Practical System Programming for Rust Developers

By: Prabhu Eshwarla

Overview of this book

Modern programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, and Java have become increasingly accepted for application-level programming, but for systems programming, C and C++ are predominantly used due to the need for low-level control of system resources. Rust promises the best of both worlds: the type safety of Java, and the speed and expressiveness of C++, while also including memory safety without a garbage collector. This book is a comprehensive introduction if you’re new to Rust and systems programming and are looking to build reliable and efficient systems software without C or C++. The book takes a unique approach by starting each topic with Linux kernel concepts and APIs relevant to that topic. You’ll also explore how system resources can be controlled from Rust. As you progress, you’ll delve into advanced topics. You’ll cover network programming, focusing on aspects such as working with low-level network primitives and protocols in Rust, before going on to learn how to use and compile Rust with WebAssembly. Later chapters will take you through practical code examples and projects to help you build on your knowledge. By the end of this Rust programming book, you will be equipped with practical skills to write systems software tools, libraries, and utilities in Rust.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
1
Section 1: Getting Started with System Programming in Rust
6
Section 2: Managing and Controlling System Resources in Rust
12
Section 3: Advanced Topics

Chapter 8: Working with Processes and Signals

Do you know how commands are executed when you type them into a terminal interface on your computer? Are these commands directly executed by the operating system, or is there an intermediate program that handles them? When you run a program from the command line in the foreground, and press Ctrl + C, who is listening to this keypress, and how is the program terminated? How can multiple user programs be run at the same time by the operating system? What is the difference between a program and a process? If you are curious, then read on.

In the previous chapter, we learned how to control and alter the terminal interface that is used to interact with the users in command-line applications.

In this chapter, we will look at processes, which are the second most popular abstraction in systems programming after files. We'll learn what processes are, how they differ from programs, how they are started and terminated, and how the process...