Rust Mastery Roadmap(Beginner โ Industry Ready)
Phase 1: Beginner: Fundamentals of Rust
Phase 1
Understand Rust syntax, ownership, and basic programming concepts.
๐ฆ Rust Basics
- 1. Variables, data types, constants, and mutability
- 2. Functions, expressions, and control flow patterns
- 3. Ownership, borrowing, and lifetimes (core Rust concept)
- 4. References and slices for memory safety
๐ฆ Data Structures
- 1. Structs, enums, and tuples implementation
- 2. Pattern matching (match, if let, while let)
- 3. Collections: Vec, HashMap, String manipulation
- 4. Error handling: Result and Option types
๐๏ธ Project Structure
- 1. Modules and use statements for code organization
- 2. Cargo basics: building and running projects
- 3. Package management and dependencies
- 4. Testing fundamentals in Rust
๐ฏ Sample Projects
- 1. โ CLI calculator with basic operations
- 2. โ To-Do list CLI application
- 3. โ Simple guessing game with user input
- 4. Practice projects focusing on ownership
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 2: Intermediate Rust: Deep Dive
Phase 2
Gain a deeper understanding of Rust concepts and standard library.
๐ง Advanced Types
- 1. Generics implementation and usage patterns
- 2. Traits and trait bounds for code reuse
- 3. Lifetimes in depth and complex scenarios
- 4. Associated types and trait objects
๐ง Smart Pointers
- 1. Box for heap allocation and recursive types
- 2. Rc and Arc for reference counting
- 3. RefCell and Cell for interior mutability
- 4. Memory management patterns and best practices
โก Error Handling Patterns
- 1. Advanced error handling with ? operator
- 2. Custom error types and error propagation
- 3. unwrap vs expect usage guidelines
- 4. Result and Option chaining techniques
๐ Collections & Iterators
- 1. Collections in depth: HashMap, BTreeMap, HashSet
- 2. Iterator patterns and functional programming
- 3. Closures and their capture semantics
- 4. Performance considerations with iterators
๐งช Testing & Debugging
- 1. Unit tests and integration tests setup
- 2. Test organization and documentation tests
- 3. Logging and debugging techniques in Rust
- 4. Benchmarking and performance profiling
๐ Intermediate Projects
- 1. โ File parser for CSV/JSON data
- 2. โ Text-based adventure game with complex state
- 3. โ Basic HTTP client using reqwest crate
- 4. Real-world applications with error handling
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 3: Advanced Rust: Systems Programming
Phase 3
Write performant, safe, and concurrent Rust applications.
โ ๏ธ Unsafe Rust
- 1. Raw pointers and unsafe blocks usage
- 2. Foreign Function Interface (FFI) with C/C++
- 3. Advanced memory management techniques
- 4. Safety contracts and invariants
๐ Concurrency & Parallelism
- 1. Threads and thread safety mechanisms
- 2. Async/await and futures programming
- 3. Tokio runtime for asynchronous programming
- 4. Message passing and shared state patterns
๐ญ Macros
- 1. Declarative macros with macro_rules!
- 2. Procedural macros: derive, attribute, function-like
- 3. Custom derive macros for code generation
- 4. Advanced macro patterns and hygiene
๐ File I/O & Networking
- 1. File system operations and path handling
- 2. Network programming with TCP/UDP sockets
- 3. Serialization/Deserialization with serde
- 4. Performance optimization techniques
๐ Advanced Projects
- 1. โ Multi-threaded web scraper
- 2. โ CLI file encryption tool with crypto
- 3. โ Custom procedural macro implementation
- 4. โ Async REST API client with error handling
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 4: Web & Backend Development
Phase 4
Use Rust for web services, APIs, and backend systems.
๐ Web Frameworks
- 1. Actix Web framework setup and configuration
- 2. Rocket framework for rapid development
- 3. REST API design and implementation
- 4. Middleware and request/response handling
๐๏ธ Database Integration
- 1. Diesel ORM for type-safe database operations
- 2. SQLx for async database programming
- 3. SeaORM as modern async ORM solution
- 4. Database migrations and schema management
๐ Authentication & Security
- 1. JWT token authentication implementation
- 2. Authorization patterns and role-based access
- 3. Password hashing and security best practices
- 4. CORS and security headers configuration
โก Real-time Features
- 1. WebSockets for real-time communication
- 2. GraphQL with async-graphql crate
- 3. Server-Sent Events (SSE) implementation
- 4. Performance monitoring and optimization
๐๏ธ Web Projects
- 1. โ REST API for blog with full CRUD
- 2. โ Real-time chat application with WebSockets
- 3. โ GraphQL API for e-commerce platform
- 4. Production-ready web services
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase 5: Systems & Embedded Programming
Phase 5
Use Rust for low-level programming and embedded systems.
๐ป Systems Programming
- 1. Operating system development concepts
- 2. Memory management and kernel programming
- 3. Device driver development patterns
- 4. Hardware abstraction layer design
๐ง Embedded Rust
- 1. no_std programming for embedded systems
- 2. cortex-m crate for ARM Cortex-M development
- 3. RTIC (Real-Time Interrupt-driven Concurrency)
- 4. Embedded HAL and peripheral access
๐ Network Programming
- 1. TCP/UDP socket programming
- 2. Custom protocol implementation
- 3. Network security and encryption
- 4. High-performance network applications
โ๏ธ Specialized Applications
- 1. Blockchain and cryptocurrency development
- 2. Cross-compilation for different targets
- 3. CLI tools with advanced features
- 4. Performance-critical application optimization
๐ฏ Systems Projects
- 1. โ Embedded sensor monitoring system
- 2. โ CLI file manager with advanced features
- 3. โ Custom OS kernel (tutorial level)
- 4. โ Blockchain client prototype implementation
Phase 5
Phase 6
Phase 6: Industry-Ready Rust Developer
Phase 6
Achieve professional-level expertise for production applications.
๐ Best Practices
- 1. Idiomatic Rust code patterns and conventions
- 2. Security best practices in Rust development
- 3. Code review guidelines and team collaboration
- 4. Documentation and API design principles
๐ Performance & Architecture
- 1. Async and scalable architecture patterns
- 2. Performance profiling and optimization techniques
- 3. Memory usage analysis and optimization
- 4. Benchmarking and performance regression testing
๐ DevOps Integration
- 1. CI/CD pipelines for Rust projects
- 2. Docker containerization and deployment
- 3. Package publishing on crates.io
- 4. Cross-platform compilation and distribution
๐ Open Source Contribution
- 1. Contributing to major Rust projects (Tokio, Actix)
- 2. Maintaining open-source Rust libraries
- 3. Community involvement and mentorship
- 4. Speaking at conferences and writing technical content
๐ Industry Projects
- 1. โ Production-ready e-commerce backend
- 2. โ Distributed systems/microservices architecture
- 3. โ High-performance game server
- 4. โ Published Rust library on crates.io
๐ Final Tips to Become Industry-Ready
Congratulations! You've completed the Rust Mastery Roadmap and are ready to build high-performance, memory-safe applications.