How to Read Files in Rust

Reading files is one of the most common operations you can come across in software development. Loading configuration files, processing files, and more are often part of the use case of the software you build.

Like in any other programming language, there are multiple ways how to read files in Rust. However, all have their advantages and disadvantages. This is why it is crucial also to understand which method to use in which case.

In the following article, you will learn about Rust’s most common ways to read files.

Reading an entire File into a String

Reading an entire file into a String has its advantages. You don’t need to worry about anything other than handling the file and processing its content. This is an excellent choice for files that:

1. Contain String content
2. Can be processed as a whole at once

On the other hand, this method also has its drawbacks:

1. Files too large might have severe performance impacts
2. The larger the file, the larger the memory consumption of your program
3. Files that do not contain String but binary content can’t be processed this way