Building a Simple Cache System in Rust: A Step-by-Step Guide
Introduction
Caching is a fundamental technique used to enhance the performance and efficiency of applications by storing frequently accessed data in memory. This article will guide you through the process of creating a simple cache system in Rust, a powerful systems programming language known for its speed and safety.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
- Rust
- Cargo, the Rust package manager (included with Rust installation)
Step 1: Setting Up Your Rust Project
First, create a new Rust project using Cargo. Open your terminal and run:
cargo new simple_cache
cd simple_cache
This command initializes a new Rust project in a directory named simple_cache
.
Step 2: Defining the Cache Structure
We’ll start by defining a basic cache structure. Open src/main.rs
and add the following code:
use std::collections::HashMap;
use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime};
struct CacheItem<V> {
value: V,
expiration: Option<SystemTime>,
}
struct Cache<K, V> {
store…