Prerequisites

Install Rust following the install guide

Evcxr

Rust programs can also be executed in an interactive environment. Evcxr is an evaluation context for Rust and it provides a REPL (analog to ipython), and a Jupyter Kernel.

Installing the Jupyter Kernel

Official guide

The steps to install the jupyter kernel are the following:

1. Install the evcxr_jupyter binary: cargo install --locked evcxr_jupyter
2. Install the kernel: evcxr_jupyter --install (Note: ensure that $HOME/.cargo/bin is in your PATH variable)

Using the Jupyter Kernel in Visual Studio Code

Official guide

1. Install the jupyter package in your python environment
2. Install the Jupyter extension for VS Code
3. Create a new .ipynb file and open it
4. Select the Jupyter Kernel
   1. Click on the Select Kernel button in the top right
   2. Choose Jupyter Kernel …
   3. Choose the Rust evcxr kernel you installed earlier

Importing dependencies

Now that you have selected the kernel you can start writing code and executing it. To import dependencies you can use the :dep keyword¹.

:dep renoir = { git = "https://github.com/deib-polimi/renoir" }

Now with an use statement we can import what we need to use renoir.

use renoir::prelude::*;

Recommended prelude

The evcxr kernel can be tuned using special keywords according to your needs. We list some of the most useful tweaks you can make (these can be put in a cell at the beginning of the notebook)

• :cache SIZE Set cache size in MiB (use for faster compilation)
• :opt LEVEL Set the optimization level, default is no optimization (for faster execution use 1,2 or 3)

Example

:cache 500
:opt 1
:dep renoir = { git = "https://github.com/deib-polimi/renoir" }
use renoir::prelude::*;

let ctx = StreamContext::new_local();

let result = ctx.stream_par_iter(0..100)
    .map(|x| (x, x * x))
    .collect_vec();

ctx.execute_blocking();
let output = result.get()

// The :vars keyword will print the variables you have set (Note: Rust lifetime rules still apply!)
:vars

println!("{output:?}");

Some([(0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 4), (3, 9), (4, 16), (5, 25), (6, 36), (7, 49), (8, …