Iterator

#027 Jan 2023

27. Option's sum/product

Rust’s option implements Sum and Product traits too!

Use it when you want to get None if there is a None element and sum of values otherwise.

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let nums: [Option<u32>;3] = [Some(1), Some(10), None];
let maybe_nums: Option<u32> = nums.into_iter().sum();
assert_eq!(maybe_nums, None);

or sum of the values …

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let nums = [Some(1), Some(10), Some(100)];
let maybe_nums: Option<u32> = nums.into_iter().sum();
assert_eq!(maybe_nums, Some(111));

And product.

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let nums = [Some(1), Some(10), Some(100)];
let maybe_nums: Option<u32> = nums.into_iter().product();
assert_eq!(maybe_nums, Some(1000));
#026 Jan 2023

26. Collecting into Option

Rust’s option implements FromIterator too!

Use it when you want to get None if there is a None element and values otherwise.

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let cars = [Some("Porsche"), Some("Ferrari"), None];
let maybe_cars: Option<Vec<_>> = cars.into_iter().collect();
assert_eq!(maybe_cars, None);

or values …

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let cars = [Some("Porsche"), Some("Ferrari"), Some("Skoda")];
let maybe_cars: Option<Vec<_>> = cars.into_iter().collect();
assert_eq!(maybe_cars, Some(vec!["Porsche", "Ferrari", "Skoda"]));
#025 Dec 2022

25. Option's iterator

Rust’s option implements an iterator!

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let o: Option<u32> = Some(200u32);
let mut iter = o.into_iter();
let v = iter.next();
assert_eq!(v, Some(200u32));

Why is this useful? see example.

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let include_this_pls = Some(300u32);
let r: Vec<u32> = (0..2).chain(include_this_pls).chain(2..5).collect();
assert_eq!(r, vec![0,1,300,2, 3,4]);
let but_not_this = None;
let r: Vec<u32> = (0..2).chain(but_not_this).chain(2..5).collect();
assert_eq!(r, vec![0,1,2,3,4]);
#024 Dec 2022

24. ..=X

As of 1.66, it is possible to use ..=X in patterns

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let result = 20u32;

match result {
    0..=20 => println!("Included"),
    21.. => println!("Sorry"),
}
#023 Dec 2022

23. Enum's default value

Instead of manually implementing Default trait for an enum, you can derive it and explicitly tell which variant should be the default one.

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#[derive(Default)]
enum Car{
    #[default]
    Porsche,
    Ferrari,
    Skoda
}

let car = Car::default();
#022 Nov 2022

22. Enum's Debug

Use Debug trait to print enum values if needed.

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#[derive(Default,Debug)]
enum Car{
    #[default]
    Porsche,
    Ferrari,
    Skoda
}

let car = Car::default();
println!("{:?}", car);
#021 Oct 2022

21. Zip longest

Sometimes there is a need to zip two iterables of various lengths.

If it is known which one is longer, then use the following approach:

First one must be longer.

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let nums1 = [1, 2, 3, 4];
let nums2 = [10, 20];

for (n1, n2) in nums1
    .into_iter()
    .zip(nums2.into_iter().chain(std::iter::repeat(0i32)))
{
    println!("{n1} - {n2}");
}
// Output:
// 1 - 10
// 2 - 20
// 3 - 0
// 4 - 0
#020 Sep 2022

20. let-else statements

As of 1.65, it is possible to use let statement with a refutable pattern.

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let result: Result<i32, ()> = Ok(20);

let Ok(value) = result else {
  panic!("Heeeelp!!!");
};

assert_eq!(value, 20);
#019 Aug 2022

19. breaking from labeled blocks

As of 1.65, it is possible to label plain block expression and terminate that block early.

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let result = 'block: {
    let result = 20i32;
    if result < 10 {
        break 'block 1;
    }
    if result > 10 {
        break 'block 2;
    }
    3
};
assert_eq!(result, 2);
#018 Jul 2022

18. flatten options

Use flatten to iterate over only Some values if you have a collection of Options.

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let nums = vec![None, Some(2), None, Some(3), None];

let mut iter = nums.into_iter().flatten();

assert_eq!(iter.next(), Some(2));
assert_eq!(iter.next(), Some(3));
#015 Apr 2022

15. Scan

Iterator adapter similar to fold (see previous bite) - holds some internal state and produces new iterator.

Note that Option is yielded from the closure.

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let nums = [1, 2, 3];

let mut iter = nums.iter().scan(0, |acc, &x| {
    *acc = *acc + x;
    Some((*acc, x))
});

assert_eq!(iter.next(), Some((1, 1)));
assert_eq!(iter.next(), Some((3, 2)));
assert_eq!(iter.next(), Some((6, 3)));
#014 Apr 2022

14. Find index of item

Use position to find position of an element in iterator. Returns None if the element does not exist.

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let nums = [1, 2, 3];

let pos = nums.iter().position(|value| *value == 3);
assert_eq!(pos, Some(2));
let pos = nums.iter().position(|value| *value == 10);
assert_eq!(pos, None);
#017 Mar 2022

17. filter_map

Similar to map but if allows to drop an item.

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let text_nums = ["1", "two", "three", "4"];

let nums: Vec<_> = text_nums
    .iter()
    .filter_map(|x| x.parse::<u32>().ok())
    .collect();

assert_eq!(nums, vec![1, 4]);
#013 Mar 2022

13. Fold

Iterator consumer. Allows the accumulated value to be arbitrary type. Note the different types.

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let nums: Vec<u8> = vec![1, 2, 3, 4];
let sum = nums.iter().fold(0u32, |acc, x| acc + *x as u32);
assert_eq!(sum, 10);
#012 Mar 2022

12. Enumerate

Use enumerate to convert iterator over (usize,item) pairs.

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let cars = vec!["Skoda", "Ferrari", "Ford"];

for (idx, car) in cars.iter().enumerate() {
    println!("{idx} - {car}");
}

// Output
// 0 - Skoda
// 1 - Ferrari
// 2 - Ford

Useful when index of item is needed.

#010 Feb 2022

10. cloned vs copied

Rust provides built-in methods to copy or clone elements when using an iterator.

Eg.

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let nums: Vec<u32> = nums1.iter().chain(&nums2).copied().collect();

What’s the difference? and when is it useful?

You may have done something like this:

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let nums: Vec<u32> = nums1.iter().chain(&nums2).map(|x| *x).collect();

but instead, use copied.

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let nums: Vec<u32> = nums1.iter().chain(&nums2).copied().collect();

Example:

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let nums = vec![1,2,3,4];
let nums2 = vec![5,6,7,8];

// doiing it manually by copying
// let all_nums: Vec<u32> = nums.iter().chain(&nums2).map(|x| *x).collect();

// doiing it manually by cloneing
// let all_nums: Vec<u32> = nums.iter().chain(&nums2).map(|x| x.clone()).collect();

// but why not just use provided functionality ??!
let all_nums: Vec<u32> = nums.iter().chain(&nums2).copied().collect();

// or cloned if copy it is not an option
//let all_nums: Vec<u32> = nums.iter().chain(&nums2).cloned().collect();

 assert_eq!(all_nums, vec![1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]);

Difference between cloned and copied?

Same reasoning aplies as for Copy and Clone traits. Use copied to avoid to accidentally cloing iterator elements. Use copied when possible.

#009 Feb 2022

9. Inspecting iterator

Ever wondered how to print while iterating?

Use inspect.

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let cars = vec!["Skoda", "Ferrari", "Ford"];

let car_lenghts: Vec<u32> = cars
    .iter()
    .enumerate()
    .inspect(|(idx, s)| println!("{idx} - {s}"))
    .map(|(_, name)| name.len() as u32)
    .collect();

assert!( car_lenghts == vec![5,7,4
#008 Feb 2022

8. Drain

Use drain to remove specified range from a vector.

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let mut a = vec![1,2,3,4,5];

let _ = a.drain(0..3);

assert!(a == vec![4,5]);

What is the difference to call into_iter which returns T ?

into_iter takes the collection by value and consumes it.

drain borrows mutable reference, and returns a drain iterator of elements. If such iterator is dropped without exhausting it, all elements are dropped.

#007 Feb 2022

7. iter() vs into_iter()

What is the difference between .iter() and .into_iter()?

iter yields &T

into_iter may yield any of T, &T or &mut T based on context.

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let cars = vec!["Skoda", "Ferrari", "Ford"];

for car in cars.iter() {
    println!("{car}");
}

for car in cars.into_iter() {
    println!("{car}");
}

this works but …

This does not. This results in compile error because cars are moved due to into_iter call.

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let cars = vec!["Skoda", "Ferrari", "Ford"];

for car in cars.into_iter() {
  println!("{car}");
}

for car in cars.iter() {
    println!("{car}");
}