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diff --git a/docs/writing-rust-code/basics.md b/docs/writing-rust-code/basics.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..d91288133b --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/writing-rust-code/basics.md @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +# Basics + +## Formatting Rust code + +To format all the Rust code within a directory `$DIR`, run: +``` +./mach lint -l rustfmt --fix $DIR +``` + +## Using Cargo + +Many Cargo commands can be run on individual crates. Change into the directory +containing the crate's `Cargo.toml` file, and then run the command with +`MOZ_TOPOBJDIR` set appropriately. For example, to generate and view rustdocs +for the `xpcom` crate, run these commands: + +``` +cd xpcom/rust/xpcom +MOZ_TOPOBJDIR=$OBJDIR cargo doc +cd - +firefox target/doc/xpcom/index.html +``` +where `$OBJDIR` is the path to the object directory. + +## Using static prefs + +Static boolean/integer prefs can be easily accessed from Rust code. Add a +`rust: true` field to the pref definition in +[modules/libpref/init/StaticPrefList.yaml](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/modules/libpref/init/StaticPrefList.yaml), +like this: +```yaml +- name: my.lucky.pref + type: RelaxedAtomicBool + value: true + mirror: always + rust: true +``` +The pref can then be accessed via the `pref!` macro, like this: +``` +let my_lucky_pref = static_prefs::pref!("my.lucky.pref"); +``` + +## Helper crates + +The following in-tree helper crates provide idiomatic support for some common patterns. +- [nserror](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/rust/nserror/src/lib.rs) +reflects `nsresult` codes into Rust. +- [nsstring](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/rust/nsstring/src/lib.rs) + exposes bindings for XPCOM string types. You can use the same `ns{A,C}String` + types as C++ for owned strings and pass them back and forth over the + boundary. There is also `ns{A,C}Str` for dependent or borrowed strings. +- [xpcom](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/rust/xpcom/src) + provides multiple building blocks for a component's implementation. + - The `RefPtr` type is for managing reference-counted pointers. + - XPCOM component getters are generated by + [xpcom/components/gen_static_components.py](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/components/gen_static_components.py), + and can be called like this: + ``` + use xpcom::{interfaces::nsIPrefService, RefPtr}; + let pref_service: RefPtr<nsIPrefService> = xpcom::components::Preferences::service()?; + ``` + - There is also a `get_service` function that works like `do_GetService` in + C++, as an alternative. + - A set of `derive` macros help with declaring interface implementations. The + [docs](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/rust/xpcom/xpcom_macros/src/lib.rs) + have details and examples. +- [moz_task](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/xpcom/rust/moz_task/src/lib.rs) + wraps XPCOM's threading functions in order to make it easy and safe to write + threaded code. It has helpers for getting and creating threads, dispatching + async runnables, and thread-safe handles. +- [storage](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/storage/rust/src/lib.rs) + is an interface to mozStorage, our wrapper for SQLite. It can wrap an + existing storage connection, and prepare and execute statements. This crate + wraps the synchronous connection API, and lets you execute statements + asynchronously via `moz_task`. +- [storage_variant](https://searchfox.org/mozilla-central/source/storage/variant/src/lib.rs) + is for working with variants. It also provides a `HashPropertyBag` type + that's useful for passing hash maps over XPCOM to JS. + +Unfortunately, rustdocs are [not yet generated and +hosted](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1428139) for crates within +mozilla-central. Therefore, the crate links shown above link to files +containing the relevant rustdocs source where possible. However, you can +generate docs locally using the `cargo doc` command described above. |