diff --git a/src/doc/book/SUMMARY.md b/src/doc/book/SUMMARY.md index 3df791fd51b..fe5e1c3990c 100644 --- a/src/doc/book/SUMMARY.md +++ b/src/doc/book/SUMMARY.md @@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ * [FFI](ffi.md) * [Borrow and AsRef](borrow-and-asref.md) * [Release Channels](release-channels.md) + * [Using Rust without the standard library](using-rust-without-the-standard-library.md) * [Nightly Rust](nightly-rust.md) * [Compiler Plugins](compiler-plugins.md) * [Inline Assembly](inline-assembly.md) diff --git a/src/doc/book/no-stdlib.md b/src/doc/book/no-stdlib.md index 0b7eec72c91..65beaed2fc7 100644 --- a/src/doc/book/no-stdlib.md +++ b/src/doc/book/no-stdlib.md @@ -1,8 +1,15 @@ % No stdlib -By default, `std` is linked to every Rust crate. In some contexts, -this is undesirable, and can be avoided with the `#![no_std]` -attribute attached to the crate. +Rust’s standard library provides a lot of useful functionality, but assumes +support for various features of its host system: threads, networking, heap +allocation, and others. There are systems that do not have these features, +however, and Rust can work with those too! To do so, we tell Rust that we +don’t want to use the standard library via an attribute: `#![no_std]`. + +> Note: This feature is technically stable, but there are some caveats. For +> one, you can build a `#![no_std]` _library_ on stable, but not a _binary_. +> For details on libraries without the standard library, see [the chapter on +> `#![no_std]`](using-rust-without-the-standard-library.html) Obviously there's more to life than just libraries: one can use `#[no_std]` with an executable, controlling the entry point is @@ -77,89 +84,3 @@ personality function (see the information), but crates which do not trigger a panic can be assured that this function is never called. The second function, `panic_fmt`, is also used by the failure mechanisms of the compiler. - -## Using libcore - -> **Note**: the core library's structure is unstable, and it is recommended to -> use the standard library instead wherever possible. - -With the above techniques, we've got a bare-metal executable running some Rust -code. There is a good deal of functionality provided by the standard library, -however, that is necessary to be productive in Rust. If the standard library is -not sufficient, then [libcore](../core/index.html) is designed to be used -instead. - -The core library has very few dependencies and is much more portable than the -standard library itself. Additionally, the core library has most of the -necessary functionality for writing idiomatic and effective Rust code. When -using `#![no_std]`, Rust will automatically inject the `core` crate, like -we do for `std` when we’re using it. - -As an example, here is a program that will calculate the dot product of two -vectors provided from C, using idiomatic Rust practices. - -```rust -# #![feature(libc)] -#![feature(lang_items)] -#![feature(start)] -#![feature(raw)] -#![no_std] - -extern crate libc; - -use core::mem; - -#[no_mangle] -pub extern fn dot_product(a: *const u32, a_len: u32, - b: *const u32, b_len: u32) -> u32 { - use core::raw::Slice; - - // Convert the provided arrays into Rust slices. - // The core::raw module guarantees that the Slice - // structure has the same memory layout as a &[T] - // slice. - // - // This is an unsafe operation because the compiler - // cannot tell the pointers are valid. - let (a_slice, b_slice): (&[u32], &[u32]) = unsafe { - mem::transmute(( - Slice { data: a, len: a_len as usize }, - Slice { data: b, len: b_len as usize }, - )) - }; - - // Iterate over the slices, collecting the result - let mut ret = 0; - for (i, j) in a_slice.iter().zip(b_slice.iter()) { - ret += (*i) * (*j); - } - return ret; -} - -#[lang = "panic_fmt"] -extern fn panic_fmt(args: &core::fmt::Arguments, - file: &str, - line: u32) -> ! { - loop {} -} - -#[lang = "eh_personality"] extern fn eh_personality() {} -# #[start] fn start(argc: isize, argv: *const *const u8) -> isize { 0 } -# #[lang = "eh_unwind_resume"] extern fn rust_eh_unwind_resume() {} -# #[no_mangle] pub extern fn rust_eh_register_frames () {} -# #[no_mangle] pub extern fn rust_eh_unregister_frames () {} -# fn main() {} -``` - -Note that there is one lang item here whose signature differs from the examples -above, `panic_fmt`. This must be defined by consumers of libcore because the -core library declares panics, but it does not define it. The `panic_fmt` -lang item is this crate's definition of panic, and it must be guaranteed to -never return. - -As can be seen in this example, the core library is intended to provide the -power of Rust in all circumstances, regardless of platform requirements. Further -libraries, such as liballoc, add functionality to libcore which make other -platform-specific assumptions, but continue to be more portable than the -standard library itself. - diff --git a/src/doc/book/using-rust-without-the-standard-library.md b/src/doc/book/using-rust-without-the-standard-library.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..59182e1a4ef --- /dev/null +++ b/src/doc/book/using-rust-without-the-standard-library.md @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ +% Using Rust Without the Standard Library + +Rust’s standard library provides a lot of useful functionality, but assumes +support for various features of its host system: threads, networking, heap +allocation, and others. There are systems that do not have these features, +however, and Rust can work with those too! To do so, we tell Rust that we +don’t want to use the standard library via an attribute: `#![no_std]`. + +> Note: This feature is technically stable, but there are some caveats. For +> one, you can build a `#![no_std]` _library_ on stable, but not a _binary_. +> For details on binaries without the standard library, see [the nightly +> chapter on `#![no_std]`](no-stdlib.html) + +To use `#![no_std]`, add a it to your crate root: + +```rust +#![no_std] + +fn plus_one(x: i32) -> i32 { + x + 1 +} +``` + +Much of the functionality that’s exposed in the standard library is also +available via the [`core` crate](../core/). When we’re using the standard +library, Rust automatically brings `std` into scope, allowing you to use +its features without an explicit import. By the same token, when using +`!#[no_std]`, Rust will bring `core` into scope for you, as well as [its +prelude](../core/prelude/v1/). This means that a lot of code will Just Work: + +```rust +#![no_std] + +fn may_fail(failure: bool) -> Result<(), &'static str> { + if failure { + Err("this didn’t work!") + } else { + Ok(()) + } +} +```