In this section, we will guide you through the process of setting up the Rust programming environment on your computer. By the end of this section, you will have Rust installed and be ready to write and run your first Rust program.

Rust provides an easy-to-use installer called rustup that manages Rust versions and associated tools.

For Windows, macOS, and Linux:

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
2. Run the following command to download and install rustup:

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

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Detailed Steps:

• Windows: If you encounter issues, you can use the Rustup-Init.exe installer.
• macOS: Ensure you have the Xcode command line tools installed. You can install them by running:

  xcode-select --install
  

• Linux: Ensure you have curl installed. If not, you can install it using your package manager, e.g., sudo apt-get install curl for Debian-based systems.

After the installation is complete, you need to ensure that Rust is correctly installed.

1. Open a new terminal or command prompt.
2. Run the following command to check the Rust version:

   rustc --version
   

   You should see output similar to:

   rustc 1.56.0 (09c42c458 2021-10-18)
   

Rust is continuously evolving, and it's a good practice to keep your Rust installation up to date.

1. To update Rust, run the following command:

   rustup update
   

While you can write Rust code in any text editor, using an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or a code editor with Rust support can significantly enhance your productivity.

Recommended Editors:

• Visual Studio Code (VS Code):

  1. Download and install VS Code.
  2. Install the Rust extension by searching for "rust-analyzer" in the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).

• IntelliJ IDEA:

  1. Download and install IntelliJ IDEA.
  2. Install the Rust plugin from the JetBrains plugin repository.

After installing your preferred editor, you may need to configure it to work seamlessly with Rust.

For VS Code:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).
3. Search for "rust-analyzer" and install it.
4. Optionally, install additional extensions like "CodeLLDB" for debugging support.

For IntelliJ IDEA:

1. Open IntelliJ IDEA.
2. Go to File > Settings > Plugins.
3. Search for "Rust" and install the plugin.
4. Restart the IDE if prompted.

By following these steps, you have successfully set up the Rust programming environment on your computer. You are now ready to start writing and running Rust programs. In the next section, we will create and run a simple "Hello, World!" program to ensure everything is working correctly.

• Installed Rust using rustup.
• Verified the installation.
• Updated Rust to the latest version.
• Installed and configured a code editor (VS Code or IntelliJ IDEA).

Next, we will dive into writing your first Rust program in the Hello, World! Program section.