Floating point types in Rust - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Floating point types

📖 Scenario: You are working on a simple calculator program that needs to handle decimal numbers accurately. You will learn how to use floating point types in Rust to store and work with decimal numbers.

🎯 Goal: Create floating point variables, perform a calculation, and display the result.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create floating point variables with exact values

Use a configuration variable for precision

Perform a calculation using floating point variables

Print the final result with specified precision

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Handling prices and taxes accurately is important in shopping apps, billing systems, and financial software.

💼 Career

Understanding floating point types and formatting is essential for software developers working with money, measurements, or scientific data.

1

Create floating point variables

Create two floating point variables called price and tax_rate with the exact values 19.99 and 0.07 respectively.

Rust

# Create floating point variables price and tax_rate
# Your code here

Hint

Use let to create variables and specify the type f64 for floating point numbers.

2

Add a precision configuration variable

Create an integer variable called precision and set it to 2 to represent the number of decimal places to show.

Rust

let price: f64 = 19.99;
let tax_rate: f64 = 0.07;
# Create an integer variable precision and set it to 2
# Your code here

Hint

Use usize type for the precision variable.

3

Calculate total price with tax

Create a floating point variable called total_price that calculates the total by adding price and the tax amount (price * tax_rate).

Rust

let price: f64 = 19.99;
let tax_rate: f64 = 0.07;
let precision: usize = 2;
# Calculate total_price as price plus price times tax_rate
# Your code here

Hint

Use arithmetic operators to calculate the total price.

4

Print the total price with precision

Print the total_price rounded to precision decimal places using println! and format! macros.

Rust

let price: f64 = 19.99;
let tax_rate: f64 = 0.07;
let precision: usize = 2;
let total_price: f64 = price + (price * tax_rate);
# Print total_price with precision decimal places
# Your code here

Hint

Use {:.2} in the format string to show two decimal places.

Practice

1. Which floating point type is the default in Rust when you write a decimal number like 3.14?

easy

A. double

B. f32

C. float

D. f64

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Rust's default floating point type

   Rust uses f64 as the default floating point type for decimal numbers for better precision.

2. Step 2: Compare with other types

   f32 is less precise and not the default; float and double are not Rust types.

3. Final Answer:

   f64 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Default floating point type = f64 [OK]

Hint: Remember: Rust defaults to f64 for decimals [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing f32 as default
• Using non-Rust types like float or double
• Assuming integers are default for decimals

2. Which of the following is the correct way to declare a 32-bit floating point variable named num with value 5.5 in Rust?

easy

A. let num = 5.5 f32;

B. let num: f32 = 5.5f32;

C. let num: float = 5.5;

D. let num = 5.5f64;

Solution

1. Step 1: Check Rust syntax for f32 declaration

   Declaring a variable with type f32 uses let num: f32 = 5.5f32;.

2. Step 2: Validate other options

   let num = 5.5 f32; is invalid syntax (should be 5.5f32 without space). let num: float = 5.5; uses float which is not a Rust type. let num = 5.5f64; declares f64, not f32.

3. Final Answer:

   let num: f32 = 5.5f32; -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Correct f32 declaration = let num: f32 = 5.5f32; [OK]

Hint: Use let var: f32 = value; for 32-bit floats [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using non-existent type 'float'
• Mixing f32 and f64 suffixes incorrectly
• Omitting type when specific precision is needed

3. What will be the output of this Rust code?

let x = 1.0; // f64 by default
let y: f32 = 2.0f32;
println!("{}", x + y as f64);

medium

A. 3.0

B. 3

C. Error: mismatched types

D. 3.00

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand type casting in the expression

   Variable y is f32, but it is cast to f64 with y as f64 before addition.

2. Step 2: Calculate the sum and output format

   Adding 1.0 (f64) and 2.0 (f64) results in 3.0. The println! macro prints it as 3.0 when using {} with floating point numbers.

3. Final Answer:

   3.0 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   println!("{}", 1.0 + 2.0f32 as f64) = 3.0 [OK]

Hint: Cast f32 to f64 before adding to avoid errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not casting f32 to f64 causing type errors
• Expecting integer output instead of float
• Confusing output format with extra zeros

4. Identify the error in this Rust code snippet:

let a: f32 = 3.5f32;
let b: f64 = 4.5;
let c = a + b;

medium

A. Cannot add f32 and f64 without casting

B. Variable c is not declared with a type

C. f32 cannot hold decimal values

D. Missing semicolon after let b

Solution

1. Step 1: Check types of variables a and b

   Variable a is f32, and b is f64. Rust does not allow direct arithmetic between different float types.

2. Step 2: Identify the error in addition

   Adding a + b causes a type mismatch error. One must cast either a or b to the other's type before adding.

3. Final Answer:

   Cannot add f32 and f64 without casting -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Mixing f32 and f64 needs casting [OK]

Hint: Always cast floats to same type before arithmetic [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring type mismatch between f32 and f64
• Assuming implicit conversion happens
• Thinking missing semicolon causes error here

5. You want to store the average of three numbers: 4.2, 5.8, and 6.0 in Rust with the highest precision. Which code snippet correctly does this?

hard

A. let avg = (4.2f32 + 5.8f32 + 6.0f32) / 3.0f32;

B. let avg = (4.2 + 5.8 + 6.0) / 3f32;

C. let avg: f64 = (4.2 + 5.8 + 6.0) / 3.0;

D. let avg: f32 = (4.2 + 5.8 + 6.0) / 3.0;

Solution

1. Step 1: Choose the highest precision floating point type

   Rust's f64 provides higher precision than f32, so declaring avg as f64 is best.

2. Step 2: Check the expression and types

   Using decimal literals without suffix defaults to f64. Dividing by 3.0 (also f64) keeps precision. let avg: f64 = (4.2 + 5.8 + 6.0) / 3.0; correctly declares avg: f64 and uses f64 literals.

3. Final Answer:

   let avg: f64 = (4.2 + 5.8 + 6.0) / 3.0; -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use f64 for highest precision average [OK]

Hint: Use f64 and decimal literals without suffix for precision [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using f32 when higher precision is needed
• Dividing by integer 3 causing integer division
• Mixing types without explicit declaration