Control Flow

Control flow determines the order in which code executes. In this section, we’ll explore Rust’s control flow structures and compare them to JavaScript’s.

Conditional Statements

if Expressions

In JavaScript, if statements work like this:

// JavaScript if statement
let number = 5;

if (number > 0) {
  console.log("Positive");
} else if (number < 0) {
  console.log("Negative");
} else {
  console.log("Zero");
}

In Rust, if is an expression (returns a value), not just a statement:

// Rust if expression
let number = 5;

if number > 0 {
    println!("Positive");
} else if number < 0 {
    println!("Negative");
} else {
    println!("Zero");
}

Key differences:

No parentheses () around conditions (though they’re optional)
Condition must be a boolean expression (no truthy/falsy values)
Braces {} are required, even for single-line blocks

if as an Expression

Since if is an expression in Rust, you can assign its result to a variable:

let number = 5;
let sign = if number > 0 {
    "positive"
} else if number < 0 {
    "negative"
} else {
    "zero"
};

println!("The number is {}", sign);

This is similar to the ternary operator in JavaScript:

const number = 5;
const sign = number > 0 ? "positive" : number < 0 ? "negative" : "zero";

console.log(`The number is ${sign}`);

Truthiness vs. Boolean Conditions

JavaScript has the concept of truthy and falsy values:

if (1) {
  console.log("1 is truthy");
}

if (0) {
  // This won't execute
} else {
  console.log("0 is falsy");
}

if ("hello") {
  console.log("Non-empty strings are truthy");
}

Rust only accepts boolean conditions:

if true {
    println!("This will execute");
}

// This won't compile
// if 1 {
//     println!("Rust doesn't have truthy values");
// }

// You must use an explicit comparison
if 1 > 0 {
    println!("This will execute");
}

Loops

while Loops

While loops in Rust and JavaScript are very similar:

// Rust while loop
let mut count = 0;
while count < 5 {
    println!("Count: {}", count);
    count += 1;
}

// JavaScript while loop
let count = 0;
while (count < 5) {
  console.log(`Count: ${count}`);
  count += 1;
}

The main differences:

No parentheses around the condition in Rust (though they’re optional)
Braces are required in Rust

for Loops

For loops are quite different between the two languages:

JavaScript’s C-style for loop:

for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
  console.log(`i: ${i}`);
}

Rust’s for-in loop:

for i in 0..5 {
    println!("i: {}", i);
}

The 0..5 is a range that includes 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 (but not 5).

JavaScript for-of loop:

const numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
for (const num of numbers) {
  console.log(`Number: ${num}`);
}

Rust for-in loop with an array:

let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
for num in numbers.iter() {
    println!("Number: {}", num);
}

Or with references:

let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
for num in &numbers {
    println!("Number: {}", num);
}

Iterating with indices

If you need indices along with values:

JavaScript:

const letters = ["a", "b", "c"];
for (let i = 0; i < letters.length; i++) {
  console.log(`Index ${i}: ${letters[i]}`);
}

// Or using forEach with index
letters.forEach((letter, index) => {
  console.log(`Index ${index}: ${letter}`);
});

Rust:

let letters = ["a", "b", "c"];
for (i, &letter) in letters.iter().enumerate() {
    println!("Index {}: {}", i, letter);
}

loop: Rust’s Infinite Loop

Rust has a loop keyword for infinite loops:

// Rust infinite loop
let mut counter = 0;
loop {
    counter += 1;
    println!("Count: {}", counter);

    if counter >= 10 {
        break;
    }
}

In JavaScript, you’d use while (true):

// JavaScript infinite loop
let counter = 0;
while (true) {
  counter += 1;
  console.log(`Count: ${counter}`);

  if (counter >= 10) {
    break;
  }
}

Returning Values from Loops

In Rust, you can return a value from a loop:

let mut counter = 0;
let result = loop {
    counter += 1;
    if counter == 10 {
        break counter * 2;
    }
};
println!("Result: {}", result);  // 20

In JavaScript, you’d need to assign the value outside the loop:

let counter = 0;
let result;
while (true) {
  counter += 1;
  if (counter == 10) {
    result = counter * 2;
    break;
  }
}
console.log(`Result: ${result}`);  // 20

Loop Labels

Rust supports loop labels to break or continue outer loops:

'outer: for x in 0..5 {
    for y in 0..5 {
        if x * y > 10 {
            println!("Breaking at x={}, y={}", x, y);
            break 'outer;
        }
    }
}

JavaScript also supports labeled statements, though they’re less commonly used:

outer: for (let x = 0; x < 5; x++) {
  for (let y = 0; y < 5; y++) {
    if (x * y > 10) {
      console.log(`Breaking at x=${x}, y=${y}`);
      break outer;
    }
  }
}

Pattern Matching with match

One of Rust’s most powerful features is the match expression:

enum Coin {
    Penny,
    Nickel,
    Dime,
    Quarter,
}

fn value_in_cents(coin: Coin) -> u8 {
    match coin {
        Coin::Penny => 1,
        Coin::Nickel => 5,
        Coin::Dime => 10,
        Coin::Quarter => 25,
    }
}

It’s similar to JavaScript’s switch, but more powerful:

function valueInCents(coin) {
  switch (coin) {
    case "penny":
      return 1;
    case "nickel":
      return 5;
    case "dime":
      return 10;
    case "quarter":
      return 25;
    default:
      throw new Error("Unknown coin");
  }
}

Key differences:

match is an expression that returns a value
match ensures exhaustiveness (all possibilities must be covered)
match supports complex pattern matching

Pattern Matching with Ranges

let number = 7;

match number {
    1 => println!("One"),
    2 | 3 => println!("Two or three"),
    4..=10 => println!("Between four and ten, inclusive"),
    _ => println!("Something else"),
}

In JavaScript, you’d need multiple case statements:

const number = 7;

switch (number) {
  case 1:
    console.log("One");
    break;
  case 2:
  case 3:
    console.log("Two or three");
    break;
  case 4:
  case 5:
  case 6:
  case 7:
  case 8:
  case 9:
  case 10:
    console.log("Between four and ten, inclusive");
    break;
  default:
    console.log("Something else");
}

Matching with Option<T>

match is often used with Option<T> to handle the presence or absence of a value:

fn find_even(numbers: &[i32]) -> Option<i32> {
    for &num in numbers {
        if num % 2 == 0 {
            return Some(num);
        }
    }
    None
}

let numbers = [1, 3, 5, 7, 9];
match find_even(&numbers) {
    Some(n) => println!("Found an even number: {}", n),
    None => println!("No even numbers found"),
}

In JavaScript, you’d check for null or undefined:

function findEven(numbers) {
  for (const num of numbers) {
    if (num % 2 === 0) {
      return num;
    }
  }
  return null;
}

const numbers = [1, 3, 5, 7, 9];
const result = findEven(numbers);
if (result !== null) {
  console.log(`Found an even number: ${result}`);
} else {
  console.log("No even numbers found");
}

if let Syntax

For simpler pattern matching, Rust offers if let syntax:

let some_value = Some(3);

// Using match
match some_value {
    Some(3) => println!("Three!"),
    _ => (),
}

// Using if let (more concise)
if let Some(3) = some_value {
    println!("Three!");
}

In JavaScript, you might use destructuring assignment:

const someValue = { value: 3 };

// Similar to if let
if (someValue?.value === 3) {
  console.log("Three!");
}

Key Differences from JavaScript

Expression-based: Rust’s if and match are expressions that return values
No truthy/falsy values: Rust requires explicit boolean conditions
Pattern matching: Rust’s match is more powerful than JavaScript’s switch
Loop syntax: Rust’s for loops are more like JavaScript’s for...of loops
Loop labels: Both languages support loop labels, but they’re more common in Rust
Exhaustiveness checking: Rust ensures you handle all possibilities in a match

Next Steps

Now that you’ve learned about control flow in Rust, let’s explore Ownership, one of Rust’s most distinctive features that doesn’t exist in JavaScript.