Command-Line Argument Parsing in Rust

Introduction

In this lab, we have an example of argument parsing using pattern matching in Rust. The program takes command-line arguments and performs different operations based on the number and type of arguments passed. If no arguments are passed, it prints a message. If a single argument is passed and it can be parsed as the integer 42, it prints "This is the answer!". If a command and an integer argument are passed, it performs either an increase or decrease operation on the integer. If any other number of arguments are passed, it shows a help message explaining the correct usage of the program.

Note: If the lab does not specify a file name, you can use any file name you want. For example, you can use main.rs, compile and run it with rustc main.rs && ./main.

Skills Graph

Argument parsing

Matching can be used to parse simple arguments:

use std::env;

fn increase(number: i32) {
    println!("{}", number + 1);
}

fn decrease(number: i32) {
    println!("{}", number - 1);
}

fn help() {
    println!("usage:
match_args <string>
    Check whether given string is the answer.
match_args {{increase|decrease}} <integer>
    Increase or decrease given integer by one.");
}

fn main() {
    let args: Vec<String> = env::args().collect();

    match args.len() {
        // no arguments passed
        1 => {
            println!("My name is 'match_args'. Try passing some arguments!");
        },
        // one argument passed
        2 => {
            match args[1].parse() {
                Ok(42) => println!("This is the answer!"),
                _ => println!("This is not the answer."),
            }
        },
        // one command and one argument passed
        3 => {
            let cmd = &args[1];
            let num = &args[2];
            // parse the number
            let number: i32 = match num.parse() {
                Ok(n) => {
                    n
                },
                Err(_) => {
                    eprintln!("error: second argument not an integer");
                    help();
                    return;
                },
            };
            // parse the command
            match &cmd[..] {
                "increase" => increase(number),
                "decrease" => decrease(number),
                _ => {
                    eprintln!("error: invalid command");
                    help();
                },
            }
        },
        // all the other cases
        _ => {
            // show a help message
            help();
        }
    }
}

$ ./match_args Rust
This is not the answer.
$ ./match_args 42
This is the answer!
$ ./match_args do something
error: second argument not an integer
usage:
match_args <string>
    Check whether given string is the answer.
match_args {increase|decrease} <integer>
    Increase or decrease given integer by one.
$ ./match_args do 42
error: invalid command
usage:
match_args <string>
    Check whether given string is the answer.
match_args {increase|decrease} <integer>
    Increase or decrease given integer by one.
$ ./match_args increase 42
43

Summary

Congratulations! You have completed the Argument Parsing lab. You can practice more labs in LabEx to improve your skills.