rustc is the compiler for the Rust programming language. Compilers take your source code and produce binary code, either as a library or executable.
Most Rust programmers don’t invoke rustc directly, but instead do it through Cargo. It’s all in service of rustc.
The Rust compiler is special in two ways: it does things to your code that other compilers don’t do (such as borrow checking) and it has a lot of unconventional implementation choices (e.g. queries).
The Rust compiler uses a query system which is unlike most textbook compilers, which are organized as a series of passes over the code that execute sequentially. The compiler does this to make incremental compilation possible. If the user makes a change to their program and recompiles, the compiler performs as little redundant work as possible to produce the new binary.
rustc is free and open source software.
Website: doc.rust-lang.org
Support: GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Rust Foundation
License: Apache License 2.0 or MIT License
rustc itself is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Discovered a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |

