How NOT to learn Rust
Notes from this video.
- Writing Rust code like other languages:
- You need to unlearn habits from other languages like C or Javascript.
- Neglecting the most import 20% of Rust:
- Trying to learn everything at once is overwhelming.
- You don't need to know all of Rust to get started. You need just enough to get started.
- Need the key 20%:
- Consider a back-end engineer. He needs async rust, tokio, rust trace system, serialisation and deserialisation;
- Consider an low-level/embedded engineer: borrow checker, foreign function interface (FFI), no std rust, allocators, the type state pattern.
- So the 20% depends on what you're trying to do.
- Being a productive procrastinator:
- Confusing passive consumption of tutorial material vs active learning.
- cf. Productive Failure:
- Try and fail, and then be given the means to solve the problem.
- cf. 'friction' in training.
- Thinking you can 'vibe code' Rust.
- LLM's can be helpful, but don't vibe code without learning proper Rust.
- Vibe coding produces an undebuggable brittle solution.
- Rust isn't like other languages.
- LLM's give you a false sense of progress.