What is Rust Trends?
Rust Trends is a bi-weekly newsletter covering the Rust programming language — new libraries, performance wins, embedded systems, tooling, and community projects. It is written for Rust developers who want to stay current without drowning in noise. You can subscribe for free.
How do I install Rust?
The easiest way to install Rust is with rustup, the official Rust installer and version manager. It installs the compiler, Cargo (the build tool and package manager), and lets you switch between stable, beta, and nightly toolchains.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
If you do not want to install anything locally, try the Rust Playground in your browser.
What is Rust used for?
Rust is a systems programming language designed for performance and memory safety without a garbage collector. Common use cases include:
- Embedded systems and firmware — tight control over hardware with no runtime overhead
- WebAssembly — compile Rust to Wasm for high-performance browser or edge workloads
- CLI tools — fast, single-binary tools (ripgrep, fd, bat are all written in Rust)
- Networking and web services — async runtimes like Tokio power high-throughput servers
- Operating systems and kernels — Linux now accepts Rust code alongside C
- Game engines — Bevy is a popular data-driven game engine written in Rust
- Cryptography and security tooling — memory safety reduces a whole class of vulnerabilities
What is the best way to learn Rust?
Rust has some of the best official documentation of any language. Start here:
- The Rust Book — the definitive introduction, free online
- Rustlings — small exercises that reinforce each concept as you read
- Rust by Example — learn through annotated, runnable code samples
- Build real projects on CodeCrafters — hands-on challenges like writing your own Redis or Git in Rust (referral link)
For a curated collection of resources see Newsletter Edition 26.
Can you learn Rust as your first programming language?
Yes, you can learn Rust as your first programming language, though it comes with both challenges and benefits.
The Reality: Rust has a reputation for being challenging, particularly due to concepts like ownership, borrowing, and lifetimes. Most experts suggest it's not the easiest first language. However, the landscape has improved significantly in recent years with better documentation and learning resources.
Why It Can Work:
- Strong Community Support: The Rust community is incredibly welcoming with active forums, Discord servers, and mentorship opportunities
- Excellent Documentation: The Rust Book is comprehensive and beginner-friendly
- Modern Language Design: You will learn good programming practices from the start without picking up bad habits
- Growing Demand: Rust developers are highly sought after, with a 68.75% increase in commercial Rust usage between 2021-2024
Learning Path for Beginners:
- Start with The Rust Book
- Practice with Rustlings exercises
- Join the /r/learnrust subreddit and Rust Community Discord
- Build projects on CodeCrafters for hands-on learning (referral link — but I wouldn't recommend it if it weren't genuinely excellent)
Bottom Line: While challenging, many beginners successfully learn Rust as their first language. Companies report typical onboarding time of 3-6 months for new Rust developers. If you are motivated and patient with the learning curve, Rust can be an excellent foundation for your programming journey.
Is Rust worth learning in 2026?
Yes. Rust has been the most admired programming language in the Stack Overflow Developer Survey for nine consecutive years. Demand is accelerating: the Linux kernel, Android, Windows, and the Rust Foundation all have active investment in the language.
Practically speaking:
- Rust developers command higher salaries than most systems programmers
- The embedded, WebAssembly, and cloud-native ecosystems are all growing fast in Rust
- Memory safety requirements in government and enterprise software are driving adoption
The learning curve is real, but the investment pays off in both career value and the quality of software you can build.
What tools are useful for embedded Rust development?
Beyond the Rust toolchain itself, embedded development involves a lot of hardware-level calculations — timer configurations, baud rates, voltage dividers, register masks. For these, Embedwise is a focused hub of engineering calculators built for embedded engineers.
For Rust-specific embedded tooling:
- probe-rs — debug and flash hardware directly from your terminal
- embedded-hal — hardware abstraction layer that unifies drivers across microcontrollers
- defmt — efficient logging framework designed for microcontrollers