Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Introduction to Rust for Solana Development

Rust is the primary programming language for Solana development due to its safety, performance, and concurrency features, which are critical for blockchain applications.

Why Rust?

• Safety: Prevents common bugs like null pointer dereferences.

• Performance: Comparable to C++ with no garbage collector.

• Concurrency: Ideal for parallel transaction processing.

Basic Syntax

• Variables: let x = 5; (immutable by default).

• Functions: fn main() { println!("Hello, Solana!"); }.

• Ownership: Rust’s unique ownership model ensures memory safety.

Installation

• Install Rust via rustup: curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh.

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Page Layout:

• Header: Fixed top bar with "Solana Learn" logo, navigation, and profile icon.

• Main Content:

  • Left Panel (50%): This text content.

  • Right Panel (50%): Interactive code editor with fn main() { println!("Hello, Solana!"); }.

• Footer: Link to Rust Docs.

Visuals:

• Code Editor: Rust snippet with syntax highlighting.

• Diagram: Ownership model (box moving between variables).

Interactivity:

• Edit and run code in the editor; see output below (e.g., "Hello, Solana!").