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Improving overconstrained Rust library APIs

Blog post from LogRocket

Post Details
Company
Date Published
Author
Andre Bogus
Word Count
1,852
Language
-
Hacker News Points
-
Summary

In the discussion on using generics in Rust library crate APIs, the text explores the balance between flexibility and efficiency. It highlights the advantages of employing generics to offer flexibility to users by allowing different data representations and minimizing unnecessary allocations. However, it also warns of the potential downsides, such as increased code bloat and the need for more type annotations, impacting ergonomics and performance. The text advises using slices over concrete types for more versatility, employing traits like `AsRef` and `Borrow` for efficient reference conversions, and considering dynamic versus static dispatch to manage code bloat. The guide suggests starting with dynamic dispatch to save compile time and switching to static dispatch if performance measurements indicate benefits. Ultimately, it emphasizes the importance of measuring performance impacts in real applications rather than relying on microbenchmarks to make informed decisions about generic usage and code optimization in Rust library development.