Rust in Action: MEAP Version 15

A Hands-On Route Into Rust and the Systems Beneath It 💻

Tim McNamara’s Rust in Action is built for programmers who learn best by making things work. This MEAP Version 15 edition pairs the Rust language with the machinery that runs underneath: memory, files, networks, time, processes, threads, containers, kernels, and signals. Rather than treating Rust as syntax alone, the book uses practical projects to show how language features connect to real computer systems.

What the Early Access Edition Covers

• Rust language distinctives: syntax, compound data types, lifetimes, ownership, and borrowing.
• Systems programming from the ground up: data representation, memory, storage, networking, and timekeeping.
• Concurrent and parallel programming: how multiple threads cooperate and coordinate.
• Extending applications: using Rust to build components that fit into larger software projects.

From Language Foundations to Computer Internals ⚙️

The opening chapters establish Rust’s core ideas through small, useful projects. Later sections shift attention to the computer itself, exploring how data moves between applications, the operating system, and hardware. Rust features are introduced as they become relevant, so the language and systems concepts develop together instead of sitting in separate boxes.

Concurrency, Containers, and the Kernel 🧠

Part 3 focuses on tools computers offer for parallel work, with a large graph-building example that grows across several chapters. Part 4 looks at extending software components and handling multiple CPU and operating system pairs from the same codebase. The result is a book that treats Rust as a practical systems language—not just a language for small exercises.

Who This Edition Is For

Intermediate programmers from any background can follow the material. The book assumes comfort with programming concepts, but it does not assume prior Rust experience. Developers curious about systems programming, concurrency, memory, or the internals of modern software will find the project-driven approach especially relevant.

About This MEAP Version 💡

This is Manning’s Early Access Program edition, Version 15, reflecting the manuscript as it stood in 2020. Some chapters were still being revised at that stage; Chapter 6 is specifically noted as a work in progress. Readers who want to see the book take shape, work through early examples, and explore Rust’s systems side before the final edition will find this snapshot useful.