Learn Unsafe Rust from My Mistakes

2023/07/25

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The article titled "Learn Unsafe Rust from My Mistakes" on Geo's Notepad provides insights into the author's experience with diving into unsafe Rust and the lessons they learned along the way. The author shares their project, which required them to transform a Vec into a Vec in place, and explains the challenges they faced in achieving this task using safe Rust.

The article highlights the lack of an obvious, high-level, and safe API in Vec to accomplish the desired transformation, leading the author to explore unsafe Rust. However, they admit to making mistakes and emphasize that the examples in the article contain unsafe code with bugs of varying subtlety. They caution readers against blindly copying the code and encourage them to reach out if they spot any errors.

The author also addresses their initial confusion and struggle with understanding when and how to use unsafe Rust. They mention the hesitation within the Rust ecosystem to use unsafe code and the misconception that unsafe Rust is solely about circumventing the borrow checker. They emphasize the importance of realizing that unsafe Rust is not about circumventing anything, but rather about the interaction between the fundamental language rules of Rust and unsafe code.

This article serves as a valuable resource for developers interested in learning about unsafe Rust and the considerations involved in using it. It provides a cautionary tale, highlights common misconceptions, and offers insights into the proper mental model for understanding and utilizing unsafe Rust effectively.