What’s new in Rust 1.28

Version 1.28 of the Rust systems programming language is now available.

What’s new in Rust 1.28

Current version: What’s new in Rust 1.28

Released in early August 2018, Rust 1.28’s most notable features include:

• Global allocators. Global allocators allow a developer to define the memory allocation system used by a Rust program. Custom memory allocation strategies come in handy on embedded platforms, or in situations where the developer needs tighter-than-usual control over memory layout strategies.
• Better error message formatting. Rust’s compiler has traditionally provided verbose and explicit error messages, along with suggestions for how to fix the problem. Rust 1.28 introduces more detailed notes about why some error conditions arise, such as invalid string formatting.
• NonZero types are now a stable addition to the language. This provides a way to ensure that data types, such as integers, use at least one byte, making it easier to anticipate memory allocations and optimize program data placement.
• Rust’s cargo utility no longer lets you publish crates with build scripts that modify the src directory for an application. This prevents a whole class of bugs from creeping in during the compilation process.