Speed Up Your Python with Rust: Optimize Python performance by creating Python pip modules in Rust with PyO3

by Maxwell Flitton

Discover how to inject your code with highly performant Rust features to develop fast and memory-safe applications Python has made software development easier, but it falls short in several areas including memory management that lead to poor performance and security. Rust, on the other hand, provides memory safety without using a garbage collector, which means that with its low memory footprint, you can build high-performant and secure apps relatively easily. However, rewriting everything in Rust can be expensive and risky as there might not be package support in Rust for the problem being solved. This is where Python bindings and pip come in. This book will help you, as a Python developer, to start using Rust in your Python projects without having to manage a separate Rust server or application. Seeing as you'll already understand concepts like functions and loops, this book covers the quirks of Rust such as memory management to code Rust in a productive and structured manner. You'll explore the PyO3 crate to fuse Rust code with Python, learn how to package your fused Rust code in a pip package, and then deploy a Python Flask application in Docker that uses a private Rust pip module. Finally, you'll get to grips with advanced Rust binding topics such as inspecting Python objects and modules in Rust. By the end of this Rust book, you'll be able to develop safe and high-performant applications with better concurrency support. This book is for Python developers who want to speed up their Python code with Rust and implement Rust in a Python system without altering the entire system. You'll be able to learn about all topics relating to Rust programming. Basic knowledge of Python is required to get the most out of this book.

384 pages, Paperback

Published January 21, 2022

Reviews

[Willian Molinari · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://pothix.com/pythonwithrustbook

[Dmitry Goryunov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts by giving you an introduction to Rust. You will like this introduction if you already have some experience with programming languages(I assume you know Python), as it skips the boring basics like for instance the loops. Can’t promise you’ll become a Rust guru after reading the first chapter. I, for instance, am still blurry on the concept of borrowed variables, but I can read the code and even managed to write a few programs in Rust after reading this book.

The rest of the book will tell you how to put Rust code into your Python project, how to structure the project, how to pass objects and call methods between these two languages. A lot of examples in the book are simple algorithms that you will speed up by simply using Rust instead of Python. The book also warns against the cases where you won’t get any speed improvement from the rewrite. Some examples in the book go beyond simple algorithmic challenges and cover how you can make Rust code part of your Flask API.

[Paul Duplys · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a compact, clear introduction to Rust, Speed Up Your Python with Rust is a great place to start—especially if you’re already comfortable with Python. The book does an excellent job of bridging the gap between the two languages without overwhelming the reader.

A standout aspect is its extensive coverage of PyO3, the Rust crate that enables seamless interaction between Rust and Python. The author walks through the concepts in a very approachable way and backs them up with practical examples.

All in all, it’s a thorough and clearly written guide that delivers exactly what it promises—helping Python developers unlock the power of Rust.