I didn't discover the joy of writing Rust code until I stopped trying to make the language something it isn't.
  • @sleep_deprived
    3•1 year ago

    Box is (basically) just the way to have memory on the heap. Here’s a direct comparison of how to do heap memory in C/++ and in rust:

    int* intOnHeap = (int*)malloc(sizeof(int));
*intOnHeap = 0;
MyClass* classOnHeap = new MyClass();

    let intOnHeap: Box = Box::new(0);
let structOnHeap: Box = Box::new(MyStruct::default());

    There can be a bit more to it with custom allocators etc. but that’s the only way most people will use boxes. So Box basically just means “a T is allocated somewhere and we need to free that memory when this value is dropped”.