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…