An Example Program Using Structs

This example demonstrates the progression from loose parameters to structured data using a rectangle area calculator.

Initial Implementation

fn main() {
    let width1 = 30;
    let height1 = 50;

    println!(
        "The area of the rectangle is {} square pixels.",
        area(width1, height1)
    );
}

fn area(width: u32, height: u32) -> u32 {
    width * height
}

Output:

$ cargo run
   Compiling rectangles v0.1.0 (file:///projects/rectangles)
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.42s
     Running `target/debug/rectangles`
The area of the rectangle is 1500 square pixels.

The function signature fn area(width: u32, height: u32) -> u32 doesn’t express the relationship between parameters. This creates maintenance issues and potential parameter ordering mistakes.

Refactoring with Tuples

fn main() {
    let rect1 = (30, 50);

    println!(
        "The area of the rectangle is {} square pixels.",
        area(rect1)
    );
}

fn area(dimensions: (u32, u32)) -> u32 {
    dimensions.0 * dimensions.1
}

Tuples group related data but lose semantic meaning. Index-based access (dimensions.0, dimensions.1) reduces code clarity and introduces potential errors.

Refactoring with Structs

Structs provide both grouping and semantic meaning:

struct Rectangle {
    width: u32,
    height: u32,
}

fn main() {
    let rect1 = Rectangle {
        width: 30,
        height: 50,
    };

    println!(
        "The area of the rectangle is {} square pixels.",
        area(&rect1)
    );
}

fn area(rectangle: &Rectangle) -> u32 {
    rectangle.width * rectangle.height
}

Benefits:

Clear function signature expressing intent
Named field access (rectangle.width, rectangle.height)
Borrowing instead of ownership transfer
Type safety preventing parameter confusion

Debug Output

Structs don’t implement Display by default. Use Debug trait for development output:

struct Rectangle {
    width: u32,
    height: u32,
}

fn main() {
    let rect1 = Rectangle {
        width: 30,
        height: 50,
    };

    println!("rect1 is {rect1}");
}

Error:

error[E0277]: `Rectangle` doesn't implement `std::fmt::Display`

Enable debug output with #[derive(Debug)]:

#[derive(Debug)]
struct Rectangle {
    width: u32,
    height: u32,
}

fn main() {
    let rect1 = Rectangle {
        width: 30,
        height: 50,
    };

    println!("rect1 is {rect1:?}");
}

Output:

$ cargo run
   Compiling rectangles v0.1.0 (file:///projects/rectangles)
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.48s
     Running `target/debug/rectangles`
rect1 is Rectangle { width: 30, height: 50 }

Pretty-print with {:#?}:

$ cargo run
   Compiling rectangles v0.1.0 (file:///projects/rectangles)
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.48s
     Running `target/debug/rectangles`
rect1 is Rectangle {
    width: 30,
    height: 50,
}

Debug Macro

The dbg! macro provides file/line information and returns ownership:

#[derive(Debug)]
struct Rectangle {
    width: u32,
    height: u32,
}

fn main() {
    let scale = 2;
    let rect1 = Rectangle {
        width: dbg!(30 * scale),
        height: 50,
    };

    dbg!(&rect1);
}

Output:

$ cargo run
   Compiling rectangles v0.1.0 (file:///projects/rectangles)
    Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.61s
     Running `target/debug/rectangles`
[src/main.rs:10:16] 30 * scale = 60
[src/main.rs:14:5] &rect1 = Rectangle {
    width: 60,
    height: 50,
}

Key Differences:

println! takes references, outputs to stdout
dbg! takes ownership (returns it), outputs to stderr with location info

Other derivable traits are listed in Appendix C. Custom trait implementation is covered in Chapter 10.