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

Reviewing networking basics in Linux

The internet connects several different networks across the globe, enabling machines across networks to communicate with each other in different ways, including the request-response model (synchronous), asynchronous messaging, and publish-subscribe-style notifications. Figure 11.1 shows an example of a connection between two networks:

Figure 11.1 – Internet router connecting two networks

Figure 11.1 – Internet router connecting two networks

The internet also provides abstractions in the form of networking protocols and standards to make it easy for hosts on different networks to communicate with each other.

Examples of standards include a common host addressing format, a combination of host address and port to define a network endpoint. The IP address of a host is a 32-bit number for IPv4 addresses and a 128-bit number for IPv6 addresses.

Examples of network protocols include for web browsers to retrieve documents from web servers, domain name system (DNS...