Improving Our I/O Project

This section demonstrates refactoring imperative code to use iterators, eliminating clone calls and improving readability through functional patterns.

Removing clone with Iterator Ownership

Original implementation with inefficient cloning:

use std::env;
use std::error::Error;
use std::fs;
use std::process;

use minigrep::{search, search_case_insensitive};

fn main() {
    let args: Vec<String> = env::args().collect();

    let config = Config::build(&args).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
        println!("Problem parsing arguments: {err}");
        process::exit(1);
    });

    if let Err(e) = run(config) {
        println!("Application error: {e}");
        process::exit(1);
    }
}

pub struct Config {
    pub query: String,
    pub file_path: String,
    pub ignore_case: bool,
}

impl Config {
    fn build(args: &[String]) -> Result<Config, &'static str> {
        if args.len() < 3 {
            return Err("not enough arguments");
        }

        let query = args[1].clone();
        let file_path = args[2].clone();

        let ignore_case = env::var("IGNORE_CASE").is_ok();

        Ok(Config {
            query,
            file_path,
            ignore_case,
        })
    }
}

fn run(config: Config) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
    let contents = fs::read_to_string(config.file_path)?;

    let results = if config.ignore_case {
        search_case_insensitive(&config.query, &contents)
    } else {
        search(&config.query, &contents)
    };

    for line in results {
        println!("{line}");
    }

    Ok(())
}

Refactoring to Accept an Iterator

Change main.rs to pass the iterator directly:

use std::env;
use std::error::Error;
use std::fs;
use std::process;

use minigrep::{search, search_case_insensitive};

fn main() {
    let config = Config::build(env::args()).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
        eprintln!("Problem parsing arguments: {err}");
        process::exit(1);
    });

    // --snip--

    if let Err(e) = run(config) {
        eprintln!("Application error: {e}");
        process::exit(1);
    }
}

pub struct Config {
    pub query: String,
    pub file_path: String,
    pub ignore_case: bool,
}

impl Config {
    fn build(args: &[String]) -> Result<Config, &'static str> {
        if args.len() < 3 {
            return Err("not enough arguments");
        }

        let query = args[1].clone();
        let file_path = args[2].clone();

        let ignore_case = env::var("IGNORE_CASE").is_ok();

        Ok(Config {
            query,
            file_path,
            ignore_case,
        })
    }
}

fn run(config: Config) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
    let contents = fs::read_to_string(config.file_path)?;

    let results = if config.ignore_case {
        search_case_insensitive(&config.query, &contents)
    } else {
        search(&config.query, &contents)
    };

    for line in results {
        println!("{line}");
    }

    Ok(())
}

Update the function signature to accept any iterator returning String:

use std::env;
use std::error::Error;
use std::fs;
use std::process;

use minigrep::{search, search_case_insensitive};

fn main() {
    let config = Config::build(env::args()).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
        eprintln!("Problem parsing arguments: {err}");
        process::exit(1);
    });


    if let Err(e) = run(config) {
        eprintln!("Application error: {e}");
        process::exit(1);
    }
}

pub struct Config {
    pub query: String,
    pub file_path: String,
    pub ignore_case: bool,
}

impl Config {
    fn build(
        mut args: impl Iterator<Item = String>,
    ) -> Result<Config, &'static str> {
        // --snip--
        if args.len() < 3 {
            return Err("not enough arguments");
        }

        let query = args[1].clone();
        let file_path = args[2].clone();

        let ignore_case = env::var("IGNORE_CASE").is_ok();

        Ok(Config {
            query,
            file_path,
            ignore_case,
        })
    }
}

fn run(config: Config) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
    let contents = fs::read_to_string(config.file_path)?;

    let results = if config.ignore_case {
        search_case_insensitive(&config.query, &contents)
    } else {
        search(&config.query, &contents)
    };

    for line in results {
        println!("{line}");
    }

    Ok(())
}

Using Iterator Methods Instead of Indexing

Replace indexing with next() calls:

use std::env;
use std::error::Error;
use std::fs;
use std::process;

use minigrep::{search, search_case_insensitive};

fn main() {
    let config = Config::build(env::args()).unwrap_or_else(|err| {
        eprintln!("Problem parsing arguments: {err}");
        process::exit(1);
    });

    if let Err(e) = run(config) {
        eprintln!("Application error: {e}");
        process::exit(1);
    }
}

pub struct Config {
    pub query: String,
    pub file_path: String,
    pub ignore_case: bool,
}

impl Config {
    fn build(
        mut args: impl Iterator<Item = String>,
    ) -> Result<Config, &'static str> {
        args.next();

        let query = match args.next() {
            Some(arg) => arg,
            None => return Err("Didn't get a query string"),
        };

        let file_path = match args.next() {
            Some(arg) => arg,
            None => return Err("Didn't get a file path"),
        };

        let ignore_case = env::var("IGNORE_CASE").is_ok();

        Ok(Config {
            query,
            file_path,
            ignore_case,
        })
    }
}

fn run(config: Config) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
    let contents = fs::read_to_string(config.file_path)?;

    let results = if config.ignore_case {
        search_case_insensitive(&config.query, &contents)
    } else {
        search(&config.query, &contents)
    };

    for line in results {
        println!("{line}");
    }

    Ok(())
}

This eliminates cloning by taking ownership of iterator values, while improving error handling with explicit None checks.

Functional Style with Iterator Adapters

Original imperative search function:

pub fn search<'a>(query: &str, contents: &'a str) -> Vec<&'a str> {
    let mut results = Vec::new();

    for line in contents.lines() {
        if line.contains(query) {
            results.push(line);
        }
    }

    results
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;

    #[test]
    fn one_result() {
        let query = "duct";
        let contents = "\
Rust:
safe, fast, productive.
Pick three.";

        assert_eq!(vec!["safe, fast, productive."], search(query, contents));
    }
}

Functional refactor using iterator adapters:

pub fn search<'a>(query: &str, contents: &'a str) -> Vec<&'a str> {
    contents
        .lines()
        .filter(|line| line.contains(query))
        .collect()
}

pub fn search_case_insensitive<'a>(
    query: &str,
    contents: &'a str,
) -> Vec<&'a str> {
    let query = query.to_lowercase();
    let mut results = Vec::new();

    for line in contents.lines() {
        if line.to_lowercase().contains(&query) {
            results.push(line);
        }
    }

    results
}

#[cfg(test)]
mod tests {
    use super::*;

    #[test]
    fn case_sensitive() {
        let query = "duct";
        let contents = "\
Rust:
safe, fast, productive.
Pick three.
Duct tape.";

        assert_eq!(vec!["safe, fast, productive."], search(query, contents));
    }

    #[test]
    fn case_insensitive() {
        let query = "rUsT";
        let contents = "\
Rust:
safe, fast, productive.
Pick three.
Trust me.";

        assert_eq!(
            vec!["Rust:", "Trust me."],
            search_case_insensitive(query, contents)
        );
    }
}

Benefits:

  • Eliminates mutable state (results vector)
  • Enables potential parallelization
  • More concise and declarative
  • Better composability

Performance note: Both implementations compile to equivalent machine code due to Rust’s zero-cost abstractions.

Iterator vs. Loop Performance

Iterator adapters are zero-cost abstractions—they compile to the same assembly as hand-written loops. The functional style often provides better readability and composability without performance penalties.

For high-performance applications, prefer iterators for their:

  • Compile-time optimizations (loop unrolling, bounds check elimination)
  • Reduced cognitive load through declarative style
  • Built-in parallelization support with external crates