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Ralf Biedert, thanks so much for this! I've been learning Rust via the Rust Book for the past few months and this will help so, so much - fantastic work.

quietbritishjim 7y ago
I know everyone says how good Rust's documentation is but I tried learning Rust with The Rust Book and found it frustrating: too long and wordy on the easy bits and without useful insight on the hard bits. I ended up buying Programming Rust by Jim Blandy [0] on a recommendation from HN comments and found it must easier to learn from. I'm already familiar with several other languages, which that book assumes, so your milage may vary. [0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491927283 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491...
- indemnity 7y ago
  You’re not alone. I found the Rust book very hard going, whereas Programming Rust was just the right amount of rigor and interesting examples for me.
  - steveklabnik 7y ago
    This is why I'm glad we have both; I don't think one resource could ever satisfy everyone. Pumped to see Rust in Action getting closer to publication too!
    - AlchemistCamp 7y ago
      I just bought Rust in Action a couple weeks ago (after having gone up to chapter 11 in the No Starch book). It's definitely good to have both. I'll probably do 1/2 the new book, finish the 1st one and then finish the new one. I did pretty much the same thing with Dave Thomas's Programming Elixir book, bailing halfway through, using a 2nd resource to consolidate, and then returning to finish it. I like learning Rust so far. The main thing I wonder is what kinds of projects are good to do while learning. I went from Node to Rails to Phoenix and normally I just rewrite web apps I've previously created in the language I'm learning. With Rust, it feels like I should build something different, something lower-level like a tool, an emulator or a 2D game.
      - jasondclinton 7y ago
        > I like learning Rust so far. The main thing I wonder is what kinds of projects are good to do while learning. I went from Node to Rails to Phoenix and normally I just rewrite web apps I've previously created in the language I'm learning. With Rust, it feels like I should build something different, something lower-level like a tool, an emulator or a 2D game. If your experience is web apps, I would stick with that; Rust has a great web app story in the form of at least two mature frameworks.
      - steveklabnik 7y ago
        This is a common issue. You don’t have to go low level; you can build anything, including web apps.
    - crispinb 7y ago
      I remember mentioning in a thread here a while back that I so enjoyed flicking through your/Carols' book online that I wished I was learning Rust, though I was unlikely for practical reasons to do so. Well now I am, and that exposure via a pleasurable read was what seeded the idea. It's true it's not a terse breakneck intro for advanced programmers. But as an experienced developer, I'm enjoying it no less for that. In any field I've been involved in, I've always enjoyed revisiting fundamentals, and in the context of learning a new (and let's be honest, not very easy or familiar) programming language this seems even more appropriate. Perhaps if I were learning Rust for work I'd want something more distilled to get me started. Even there I'm sure I'd read TRPL at some point. But right now I'm finding it an enjoyable way to get underway for my own interest.
      - steveklabnik 7y ago
        Thanks!
    - indemnity 7y ago
      Ah, awesome, another Rust book. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks!
  - Boulth 7y ago
    Seconded. I read Programming Rust and it was excellent. Too bad there is no second part. I didn't get too far in the Rust book though.
- fold_left 7y ago
  > I know everyone says how good Rust's documentation is but I tried learning Rust with The Rust Book and found it frustrating: too long and wordy on the easy bits and without useful insight on the hard bits. I ended up buying Programming Rust by Jim Blandy [0] on a recommendation from HN comments and found it must easier to learn from. I'm already familiar with several other languages, which that book assumes, so your milage may vary. > [0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491.... Thanks for tip, the Rust Book is working well for me so far but it's good to know of other good options.
- bschwindHN 7y ago
  > everyone says how good Rust's documentation is I don't know about everyone else, but when I say that I'm mostly referring to the auto generated documentation you get from Cargo. One of Rust's greatest strengths is having uniform documentation for every project.

quietbritishjim 7y ago

I know everyone says how good Rust's documentation is but I tried learning Rust with The Rust Book and found it frustrating: too long and wordy on the easy bits and without useful insight on the hard bits. I ended up buying Programming Rust by Jim Blandy [0] on a recommendation from HN comments and found it must easier to learn from. I'm already familiar with several other languages, which that book assumes, so your milage may vary. [0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491927283 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491...

indemnity 7y ago
You’re not alone. I found the Rust book very hard going, whereas Programming Rust was just the right amount of rigor and interesting examples for me.
- steveklabnik 7y ago
  This is why I'm glad we have both; I don't think one resource could ever satisfy everyone. Pumped to see Rust in Action getting closer to publication too!
  - AlchemistCamp 7y ago
    I just bought Rust in Action a couple weeks ago (after having gone up to chapter 11 in the No Starch book). It's definitely good to have both. I'll probably do 1/2 the new book, finish the 1st one and then finish the new one. I did pretty much the same thing with Dave Thomas's Programming Elixir book, bailing halfway through, using a 2nd resource to consolidate, and then returning to finish it. I like learning Rust so far. The main thing I wonder is what kinds of projects are good to do while learning. I went from Node to Rails to Phoenix and normally I just rewrite web apps I've previously created in the language I'm learning. With Rust, it feels like I should build something different, something lower-level like a tool, an emulator or a 2D game.
    - jasondclinton 7y ago
      > I like learning Rust so far. The main thing I wonder is what kinds of projects are good to do while learning. I went from Node to Rails to Phoenix and normally I just rewrite web apps I've previously created in the language I'm learning. With Rust, it feels like I should build something different, something lower-level like a tool, an emulator or a 2D game. If your experience is web apps, I would stick with that; Rust has a great web app story in the form of at least two mature frameworks.
    - steveklabnik 7y ago
      This is a common issue. You don’t have to go low level; you can build anything, including web apps.
  - crispinb 7y ago
    I remember mentioning in a thread here a while back that I so enjoyed flicking through your/Carols' book online that I wished I was learning Rust, though I was unlikely for practical reasons to do so. Well now I am, and that exposure via a pleasurable read was what seeded the idea. It's true it's not a terse breakneck intro for advanced programmers. But as an experienced developer, I'm enjoying it no less for that. In any field I've been involved in, I've always enjoyed revisiting fundamentals, and in the context of learning a new (and let's be honest, not very easy or familiar) programming language this seems even more appropriate. Perhaps if I were learning Rust for work I'd want something more distilled to get me started. Even there I'm sure I'd read TRPL at some point. But right now I'm finding it an enjoyable way to get underway for my own interest.
    - steveklabnik 7y ago
      Thanks!
  - indemnity 7y ago
    Ah, awesome, another Rust book. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks!
- Boulth 7y ago
  Seconded. I read Programming Rust and it was excellent. Too bad there is no second part. I didn't get too far in the Rust book though.
fold_left 7y ago
> I know everyone says how good Rust's documentation is but I tried learning Rust with The Rust Book and found it frustrating: too long and wordy on the easy bits and without useful insight on the hard bits. I ended up buying Programming Rust by Jim Blandy [0] on a recommendation from HN comments and found it must easier to learn from. I'm already familiar with several other languages, which that book assumes, so your milage may vary. > [0] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Rust-Jim-Blandy/dp/1491.... Thanks for tip, the Rust Book is working well for me so far but it's good to know of other good options.
bschwindHN 7y ago
> everyone says how good Rust's documentation is I don't know about everyone else, but when I say that I'm mostly referring to the auto generated documentation you get from Cargo. One of Rust's greatest strengths is having uniform documentation for every project.