Discover the differences between structural and nominal typing in Rust, using examples to illustrate how Rust's type system impacts programming safety and flexibility. Compare Rust's approach to typing with Elm's, Roc's, and TypeScript's type systems, highlighting the unique aspects of each. This post offers an in-depth exploration of Rust's type system, equipping developers with insights into how different typing strategies can influence code design.
Algebraic data types (ADTs) are a cornerstone of type theory in programming, providing a powerful framework for constructing and manipulating complex data structures. This post delves into the algebraic nature of Rust's type system, emphasizing the critical role of understanding a type's cardinality — that is, the total number of values a type can represent. This understanding is crucial for selecting the most appropriate data model, one that ensures impossible states are inherently unrepresentable. We explore the concepts of sum and product types, and highlight the intriguing way in which functions can be seen as exponentials within this algebraic framework.