Rust is a new language for making computer programs stated Bahaa Al Zubaidi. It’s become very popular because it emphasizes safety, speed, and running many tasks simultaneously. Rust is a good pick for important performance apps like games, operating systems, and small gadgets because it’s an easy-to-understand language. Most programs have parts written in different languages. So, knowing how Rust can mix with other languages is crucial.

C and C++

Rust has strong support for working with C and C++ code. The Rust compiler makes C-friendly function interfaces for any marked as ‘extern’ in Rust. This lets Rust and C/C++ work together smoothly.

For example, you can expose a Rust function to C like this:

#[no_mangle]

pub extern “C” fn rust_function() {

// function body

}

The extern “C” makes this function compatible with C’s function ABI. And #[no_mangle] prevents the compiler from changing the function name.

Python

To call Rust functions from Python, you would use an FFI (Foreign Function Interface) such as PyO3. With PyO3, you get Python bindings for your Rust libraries.

On the Rust side, you expose functions like this:

#[pyo3::pyfunction]

fn rust_func() -> PyResult<()> {

// function body

}

Then, on the Python side, you can import and call it like regular Python code:

import mylib

mylib.rust_func()

Other Languages

It also provides C bindings to interoperate with a lot of other languages, including Java (JNI), Ruby, and R.

The process is largely similar – expose a C-compatible interface from Rust, then call those functions from the other language. Bindgen and cbindgen will auto-generate FFI bindings.

There are also Rust crates providing native bindings for many languages like Node.js (Neon), Go, and .NET.

Calling Other Languages from Rust

Rust can also call functions from other languages using FFI.

For example, to call a C function from Rust:

extern “C” {

fn c_function();

}

unsafe {

c_function();

}

extern “C” declares that c_function has a C-compatible ABI. And unsafe is required to call FFI functions in Rust.

Here are some other examples:

  • Call Python using PyO3
  • Call JavaScript from Node.js using Neon
  • Call Java using JNI (Java Native Interface)
  • Call .NET assemblies using CLR FFI

Shared Data Structures

Several approaches will be followed to have Rust communicate with other languages such that data structures are also shared in the memory of those other languages. However, some of the approaches include:

  • C-compatible structs – Define your structs in Rust using the #[repr(C)] attribute for C compatibility. The same struct definitions could be used in C, C++, and other languages.
  • Serialization – For serialization of data into an interchange format such as JSON that any language can interpret. A popular Rust framework for serialization is Serde.
  • Memory Buffers – To share a mutable byte buffer across languages. Handy when there is a need to share large data sets in high performance.
  • Foreign function arguments – Foreign function arguments can be simple data types such as strings, numbers, and arrays.
  • Shared native libraries – Data structures defined in a native library, such as SQLite, can be shared between multiple languages.

Code Integration

There are various ways to integrate Rust code into a larger application:

  • Make Rust into a fixed or changing library, then tie it to other code.
  • Turn Rust into WebAssembly to run in web programs.
  • Use Rust build scripts to make code in other languages.
  • Write Rust in a way that works on different systems.
  • Create different parts in every language and link them using REST APIs, gRPC, or message queues.
  • Use Rust for fast steps in a code written mostly at a high level.

It’s important to have good code organization and design APIs when combining different languages. Clear divisions and separation of tasks will help keep the code simple to change.

Conclusion

The lively ecosystem of FFI bindings and focus on interoperability mean it’s relatively easy to slap Rust components into a polyglot application. It can be the incredibly high-performance backend for some higher-level languages while still interfacing cleanly with all your existing C/C++ code.

As Rust matures, we hope to see ever-increasing adoption of Rust in mixed-language systems that need both performance and safety. With careful design of APIs and interface definitions, one may happily coexist with Rust alongside languages as throughput-oriented as Julia or memory-safe as Python or Ruby. Thank you for your interest in Bahaa Al Zubaidi blogs. For more information, please visit www.bahaaalzubaidi.com.