Rust has standout features for memory safety. How does its borrowing and ownership system handle memory management? Is it enforced at compile time or runtime? What rules come with borrowing between references?
How does borrowing and ownership work in Rust?
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Recently, while starting a new project, I was thinking about how to efficiently pass around a `Vec<String>` collection using functions. In my first attempt, I tried passing it directly as a parameter and taking a mutable reference, but the compiler gave me a "move" error. Then I remembered Rust's ownership rules—the `Vec` was owned by the calling function, leaving only a reference behind.
After that, I experimented with `&mut Vec<String>`, but when I tried using both immutable and mutable references in a function, I ran into Rust's borrowing rules. Even though the compiler warned me at compile time, I was amazed by Rust's compile-time guarantees since there was no runtime overhead. Now, when chaining functions, I use methods like `split_at` to pass references while staying compliant with the borrowing rules.
So, how did you get past the confusing parts of Rust's ownership system? What simple example do you use to really grasp borrowing with references?
Can someone share a simple example to understand how Rust's ownership and borrowing system works at compile time rather than runtime? For instance, when I try to pass an array into a function and both read and modify it, in which scenarios would I get an error?