How I Solved Memory Leaks and Cut RAM Usage by 40% in Rust with Borrow Checker Mastery
This article is open to everyone, non-members can view the full article via this link
Memory management is one of the trickiest areas of programming, and when working in systems programming languages, it becomes even more critical. Unlike garbage-collected languages like Python or Java, where the memory is managed for you, languages like C and C++ leave the task squarely on your shoulders. Rust, however, takes a different approach. It offers the borrow checker, a powerful tool for memory safety without the overhead of garbage collection.
In this article, I’ll take you through how I solved memory leaks in my Rust application and cut RAM usage by 40% by truly mastering the borrow checker. It’s not just about avoiding the dreaded “use-after-free” errors, but also about optimising memory usage efficiently, something the borrow checker can help with if used correctly.
Memory Leaks in Low-Level Languages: A Recap
Memory leaks happen when a program allocates memory but never releases it, leading to gradual consumption of available memory and, eventually, crashes or significant slowdowns. In languages like C or C++, this is common because developers manage memory manually.
