From Python to Rust and Back Again

Workshop materials for Python developers who want to introduce Rust at a carefully chosen boundary without rewriting an entire codebase.

The lesson maps familiar Python concepts to Rust, explains where the analogy ends, and incrementally builds a teaching-sized version of acorn-py with PyO3 and Maturin. It is currently in pre-alpha: the structure and teaching path are ready for content development and review.

Lesson outline

1. There and Back Again
2. Translating Python into Rust
3. Where the analogy ends
4. Adding Rust to Python incrementally
5. Building a Python extension with PyO3
6. From Python to Rust and back again
7. Practical guidance and Q&A

Learners should begin with the setup instructions. Lesson authors can use the instructor notes for the teaching schedule and content-development map.

Build the site locally

This repository uses The Carpentries Workbench. With R and the Workbench packages installed, start the hot-reload development server with:

make dev

The preview is available at http://127.0.0.1:3435 and updates when lesson files are saved. Override the interface or port when needed:

make dev HOST=0.0.0.0 PORT=8080

Other common tasks are:

make help     # List every target.
make doctor   # Check R, the Workbench packages, and Pandoc.
make check    # Validate the lesson.
make build    # Incrementally build the static site.
make rebuild  # Rebuild without cached output.
make all      # Validate, then build.

Run make setup on a new machine to install R and Pandoc through Homebrew when needed, install the Workbench, and provision the lesson dependencies. On Linux or Windows, install R and Pandoc with the platform's package manager first; the target will print the relevant installation links when Homebrew is unavailable. An installed but unlinked Homebrew R formula is detected automatically, so brew link r is not required. R packages are installed into the ignored, project-local .r-library/ directory, leaving Homebrew's global library unchanged. The same Workbench operations can be invoked directly from R:

library(sandpaper)
build_lesson()
serve()

Ringbearer display font

This private workshop bundles Ringbearer for its title and main headings. make build and make rebuild copy the font into the generated site; Mulish remains the fallback. The font's terms limit it to private use, so obtain permission from the author before publishing or distributing the workshop.

Contributing

Corrections, learner feedback, exercises, and platform-specific setup reports are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md before opening an issue or pull request.