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<h2 id="functions"><a class="header" href="#functions">Functions</a></h2>
<p>Functions are prevalent in Rust code. You’ve already seen one of the most
important functions in the language: the <code>main</code> function, which is the entry
point of many programs. You’ve also seen the <code>fn</code> keyword, which allows you to
declare new functions.</p>
<p>Rust code uses <em>snake case</em> as the conventional style for function and variable
names, in which all letters are lowercase and underscores separate words.
Here’s a program that contains an example function definition:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
println!("Hello, world!");
another_function();
}
fn another_function() {
println!("Another function.");
}</code></pre>
<p>We define a function in Rust by entering <code>fn</code> followed by a function name and a
set of parentheses. The curly brackets tell the compiler where the function
body begins and ends.</p>
<p>We can call any function we’ve defined by entering its name followed by a set
of parentheses. Because <code>another_function</code> is defined in the program, it can be
called from inside the <code>main</code> function. Note that we defined <code>another_function</code>
<em>after</em> the <code>main</code> function in the source code; we could have defined it before
as well. Rust doesn’t care where you define your functions, only that they’re
defined somewhere in a scope that can be seen by the caller.</p>
<p>Let’s start a new binary project named <em>functions</em> to explore functions
further. Place the <code>another_function</code> example in <em>src/main.rs</em> and run it. You
should see the following output:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.28s
Running `target/debug/functions`
Hello, world!
Another function.
</code></pre>
<p>The lines execute in the order in which they appear in the <code>main</code> function.
First the “Hello, world!” message prints, and then <code>another_function</code> is called
and its message is printed.</p>
<h3 id="parameters"><a class="header" href="#parameters">Parameters</a></h3>
<p>We can define functions to have <em>parameters</em>, which are special variables that
are part of a function’s signature. When a function has parameters, you can
provide it with concrete values for those parameters. Technically, the concrete
values are called <em>arguments</em>, but in casual conversation, people tend to use
the words <em>parameter</em> and <em>argument</em> interchangeably for either the variables
in a function’s definition or the concrete values passed in when you call a
function.</p>
<p>In this version of <code>another_function</code> we add a parameter:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
another_function(5);
}
fn another_function(x: i32) {
println!("The value of x is: {x}");
}</code></pre>
<p>Try running this program; you should get the following output:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 1.21s
Running `target/debug/functions`
The value of x is: 5
</code></pre>
<p>The declaration of <code>another_function</code> has one parameter named <code>x</code>. The type of
<code>x</code> is specified as <code>i32</code>. When we pass <code>5</code> in to <code>another_function</code>, the
<code>println!</code> macro puts <code>5</code> where the pair of curly brackets containing <code>x</code> was
in the format string.</p>
<p>In function signatures, you <em>must</em> declare the type of each parameter. This is
a deliberate decision in Rust’s design: Requiring type annotations in function
definitions means the compiler almost never needs you to use them elsewhere in
the code to figure out what type you mean. The compiler is also able to give
more-helpful error messages if it knows what types the function expects.</p>
<p>When defining multiple parameters, separate the parameter declarations with
commas, like this:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
print_labeled_measurement(5, 'h');
}
fn print_labeled_measurement(value: i32, unit_label: char) {
println!("The measurement is: {value}{unit_label}");
}</code></pre>
<p>This example creates a function named <code>print_labeled_measurement</code> with two
parameters. The first parameter is named <code>value</code> and is an <code>i32</code>. The second is
named <code>unit_label</code> and is type <code>char</code>. The function then prints text containing
both the <code>value</code> and the <code>unit_label</code>.</p>
<p>Let’s try running this code. Replace the program currently in your <em>functions</em>
project’s <em>src/main.rs</em> file with the preceding example and run it using <code>cargo run</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.31s
Running `target/debug/functions`
The measurement is: 5h
</code></pre>
<p>Because we called the function with <code>5</code> as the value for <code>value</code> and <code>'h'</code> as
the value for <code>unit_label</code>, the program output contains those values.</p>
<h3 id="statements-and-expressions"><a class="header" href="#statements-and-expressions">Statements and Expressions</a></h3>
<p>Function bodies are made up of a series of statements optionally ending in an
expression. So far, the functions we’ve covered haven’t included an ending
expression, but you have seen an expression as part of a statement. Because
Rust is an expression-based language, this is an important distinction to
understand. Other languages don’t have the same distinctions, so let’s look at
what statements and expressions are and how their differences affect the bodies
of functions.</p>
<ul>
<li><em>Statements</em> are instructions that perform some action and do not return
a value.</li>
<li><em>Expressions</em> evaluate to a resultant value.</li>
</ul>
<p>Let’s look at some examples.</p>
<p>We’ve actually already used statements and expressions. Creating a variable and
assigning a value to it with the <code>let</code> keyword is a statement. In Listing 3-1,
<code>let y = 6;</code> is a statement.</p>
<figure class="listing" id="listing-3-1">
<span class="file-name">Filename: src/main.rs</span>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
let y = 6;
}</code></pre>
<figcaption><a href="#listing-3-1">Listing 3-1</a>: A <code>main</code> function declaration containing one statement</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Function definitions are also statements; the entire preceding example is a
statement in itself. (As we’ll see shortly, calling a function is not a
statement, though.)</p>
<p>Statements do not return values. Therefore, you can’t assign a <code>let</code> statement
to another variable, as the following code tries to do; you’ll get an error:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore does_not_compile">fn main() {
let x = (let y = 6);
}</code></pre>
<p>When you run this program, the error you’ll get looks like this:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
error: expected expression, found `let` statement
--&gt; src/main.rs:2:14
|
2 | let x = (let y = 6);
| ^^^
|
= note: only supported directly in conditions of `if` and `while` expressions
warning: unnecessary parentheses around assigned value
--&gt; src/main.rs:2:13
|
2 | let x = (let y = 6);
| ^ ^
|
= note: `#[warn(unused_parens)]` on by default
help: remove these parentheses
|
2 - let x = (let y = 6);
2 + let x = let y = 6;
|
warning: `functions` (bin "functions") generated 1 warning
error: could not compile `functions` (bin "functions") due to 1 previous error; 1 warning emitted
</code></pre>
<p>The <code>let y = 6</code> statement does not return a value, so there isn’t anything for
<code>x</code> to bind to. This is different from what happens in other languages, such as
C and Ruby, where the assignment returns the value of the assignment. In those
languages, you can write <code>x = y = 6</code> and have both <code>x</code> and <code>y</code> have the value
<code>6</code>; that is not the case in Rust.</p>
<p>Expressions evaluate to a value and make up most of the rest of the code that
you’ll write in Rust. Consider a math operation, such as <code>5 + 6</code>, which is an
expression that evaluates to the value <code>11</code>. Expressions can be part of
statements: In Listing 3-1, the <code>6</code> in the statement <code>let y = 6;</code> is an
expression that evaluates to the value <code>6</code>. Calling a function is an
expression. Calling a macro is an expression. A new scope block created with
curly brackets is an expression, for example:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
let y = {
let x = 3;
x + 1
};
println!("The value of y is: {y}");
}</code></pre>
<p>This expression:</p>
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore">{
let x = 3;
x + 1
}</code></pre>
<p>is a block that, in this case, evaluates to <code>4</code>. That value gets bound to <code>y</code>
as part of the <code>let</code> statement. Note the <code>x + 1</code> line without a semicolon at
the end, which is unlike most of the lines you’ve seen so far. Expressions do
not include ending semicolons. If you add a semicolon to the end of an
expression, you turn it into a statement, and it will then not return a value.
Keep this in mind as you explore function return values and expressions next.</p>
<h3 id="functions-with-return-values"><a class="header" href="#functions-with-return-values">Functions with Return Values</a></h3>
<p>Functions can return values to the code that calls them. We don’t name return
values, but we must declare their type after an arrow (<code>-&gt;</code>). In Rust, the
return value of the function is synonymous with the value of the final
expression in the block of the body of a function. You can return early from a
function by using the <code>return</code> keyword and specifying a value, but most
functions return the last expression implicitly. Here’s an example of a
function that returns a value:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn five() -&gt; i32 {
5
}
fn main() {
let x = five();
println!("The value of x is: {x}");
}</code></pre>
<p>There are no function calls, macros, or even <code>let</code> statements in the <code>five</code>
function—just the number <code>5</code> by itself. That’s a perfectly valid function in
Rust. Note that the function’s return type is specified too, as <code>-&gt; i32</code>. Try
running this code; the output should look like this:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
Finished `dev` profile [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.30s
Running `target/debug/functions`
The value of x is: 5
</code></pre>
<p>The <code>5</code> in <code>five</code> is the function’s return value, which is why the return type
is <code>i32</code>. Let’s examine this in more detail. There are two important bits:
First, the line <code>let x = five();</code> shows that we’re using the return value of a
function to initialize a variable. Because the function <code>five</code> returns a <code>5</code>,
that line is the same as the following:</p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024"><span class="boring">#![allow(unused)]
</span><span class="boring">fn main() {
</span>let x = 5;
<span class="boring">}</span></code></pre>
<p>Second, the <code>five</code> function has no parameters and defines the type of the
return value, but the body of the function is a lonely <code>5</code> with no semicolon
because it’s an expression whose value we want to return.</p>
<p>Let’s look at another example:</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre class="playground"><code class="language-rust edition2024">fn main() {
let x = plus_one(5);
println!("The value of x is: {x}");
}
fn plus_one(x: i32) -&gt; i32 {
x + 1
}</code></pre>
<p>Running this code will print <code>The value of x is: 6</code>. But what happens if we
place a semicolon at the end of the line containing <code>x + 1</code>, changing it from
an expression to a statement?</p>
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore does_not_compile">fn main() {
let x = plus_one(5);
println!("The value of x is: {x}");
}
fn plus_one(x: i32) -&gt; i32 {
x + 1;
}</code></pre>
<p>Compiling this code will produce an error, as follows:</p>
<pre><code class="language-console">$ cargo run
Compiling functions v0.1.0 (file:///projects/functions)
error[E0308]: mismatched types
--&gt; src/main.rs:7:24
|
7 | fn plus_one(x: i32) -&gt; i32 {
| -------- ^^^ expected `i32`, found `()`
| |
| implicitly returns `()` as its body has no tail or `return` expression
8 | x + 1;
| - help: remove this semicolon to return this value
For more information about this error, try `rustc --explain E0308`.
error: could not compile `functions` (bin "functions") due to 1 previous error
</code></pre>
<p>The main error message, <code>mismatched types</code>, reveals the core issue with this
code. The definition of the function <code>plus_one</code> says that it will return an
<code>i32</code>, but statements don’t evaluate to a value, which is expressed by <code>()</code>,
the unit type. Therefore, nothing is returned, which contradicts the function
definition and results in an error. In this output, Rust provides a message to
possibly help rectify this issue: It suggests removing the semicolon, which
would fix the error.</p>
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