Rust Control Structures

Control Structures are programming constructs that determine the flow of execution in a Rust program. They include conditional branching (if/else), looping (for/while/loop), and pattern matching (match). Unlike many languages, Rust's control structures are expressions that can return values, enabling more concise and functional-style code while maintaining strict type safety and exhaustive pattern checking.

1. If Expressions

Key Points:

No parentheses around conditions (unlike C/Java)
Returns a value (can be assigned)
Type consistency required in all branches

// Basic if-else
let number = 7;
if number < 5 {
    println!("Condition was true");
} else {
    println!("Condition was false");
}

// If as expression
let result = if number % 2 == 0 {
    "even"
} else {
    "odd"
};
println!("The number is {}", result);

If Quiz

What's wrong with this code?

let x = if true { 1 } else { "two" };

Missing semicolon
Type mismatch between branches
Parentheses needed around condition

2. Looping Constructs

Loop (Infinite)

let mut count = 0;
loop {
    count += 1;
    if count == 3 {
        break count * 2; // Returns value
    }
};

While

let mut number = 3;
while number != 0 {
    println!("{}!", number);
    number -= 1;
}

For (Range-based)

for i in 1..4 { // 1 to 3
    println!("{}", i);
}

// Iterating collections
let arr = [10, 20, 30];
for num in arr.iter() {
    println!("{}", num);
}

Loop Quiz

Which loop is guaranteed to run at least once?

while loop
loop (infinite)
for loop

3. Match Expressions

Rust's supercharged switch statement:

Exhaustive checking (must cover all cases)
Pattern matching capabilities
Can return values

let coin = Coin::Quarter(UsState::Alaska);
match coin {
    Coin::Penny => {
        println!("Lucky penny!");
        1
    },
    Coin::Nickel => 5,
    Coin::Dime => 10,
    Coin::Quarter(state) => {
        println!("Quarter from {:?}!", state);
        25
    },
}

// Matching with ranges
match temperature {
    0..=32 => "freezing",
    33..=50 => "cold",
    51..=70 => "mild",
    _ => "hot", // Default case
}

Match Quiz

What happens if you omit the _ case when matching numbers?

It defaults to 0
Compile error (non-exhaustive patterns)
Runtime panic

4. Concise Control with if let

For matching one pattern while ignoring others

let some_value = Some(3);

// Verbose match
match some_value {
    Some(3) => println!("three"),
    _ => (),
}

// Equivalent if let
if let Some(3) = some_value {
    println!("three");
}

If Let Quiz

When should you use if let instead of match?

When you need exhaustive checking
When you only care about one pattern
When working with integers

5. while let Pattern Matching

Loop until pattern fails to match

let mut stack = vec![1, 2, 3];

while let Some(top) = stack.pop() {
    println!("{}", top);
}
// Prints 3, 2, 1

While Let Quiz

What does while let Some(x) = iterator.next() do?

Runs once if iterator has items
Loops until iterator returns None
Matches only the first item

6. Early Returns and ? Operator

Early Return

fn divide(a: i32, b: i32) -> Option<i32> {
    if b == 0 {
        return None; // Early exit
    }
    Some(a / b)
}

? Operator (Error Propagation)

fn read_file() -> Result<String, io::Error> {
    let mut f = File::open("file.txt")?; // Returns error if fails
    let mut s = String::new();
    f.read_to_string(&mut s)?;
    Ok(s)
}

Error Handling Quiz

What does the ? operator do?

Terminates the program
Returns the error early from function
Converts errors to strings

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