Box pointer in Rust - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Understanding Box Pointer in Rust

📖 Scenario: Imagine you want to store a number on the heap instead of the stack in Rust. This is useful when you want to manage memory manually or work with data that needs to live beyond the current scope.

🎯 Goal: You will create a Box pointer to store an integer on the heap, then access and print its value.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a variable called num that stores the integer 10 on the heap using Box::new.

Create a variable called num_ref that borrows the value inside the box.

Print the value inside the box using println!.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Box pointers are used in Rust to store data on the heap, which is useful for large data or when you want ownership and control over memory.

💼 Career

Understanding Box pointers is important for Rust developers working on systems programming, embedded devices, or performance-critical applications.

1

Create a Box pointer with an integer

Create a variable called num that stores the integer 10 on the heap using Box::new(10).

Rust

# Create a Box pointer called num that stores 10 on the heap
# Your code here

Hint

Use Box::new(10) to create a box pointer holding the value 10.

2

Create a reference to the boxed value

Create a variable called num_ref that borrows the value inside the box num using &*num.

Rust

fn main() {
    let num = Box::new(10);
    // Create a reference called num_ref to the value inside num
    # Your code here
}

Hint

Use let num_ref = &*num; to borrow the value inside the box.

3

Print the value inside the Box

Use println! to print the value inside the box by dereferencing num_ref with *num_ref.

Rust

fn main() {
    let num = Box::new(10);
    let num_ref = &*num;
    // Print the value inside the box
    # Your code here
}

Hint

Use *num_ref to get the value inside the box for printing.

4

Run the program to see the output

Run the program and observe the printed output showing the value inside the box.

Rust

fn main() {
    let num = Box::new(10);
    let num_ref = &*num;
    println!("The value inside the box is: {}", *num_ref);
    // Program output
    # Your code here
}

Hint

The program should print: The value inside the box is: 10