Rust Trait Object

Rust trait object

Created By: chatGPT

Rust allows the creation of trait objects to enable dynamic dispatch. A trait object is a way to use traits for types that are known only at runtime. This allows for more flexible and extensible code. Trait objects are created by using a reference to a trait (&dyn TraitType or Box<dyn TraitType>).

// Define a trait
trait Shape {
    fn area(&self) -> f64;
}

// Implement the trait for different types
struct Circle {
    radius: f64,
}

impl Shape for Circle {
    fn area(&self) -> f64 {
        std::f64::consts::PI * self.radius * self.radius
    }
}

struct Rectangle {
    width: f64,
    height: f64,
}

impl Shape for Rectangle {
    fn area(&self) -> f64 {
        self.width * self.height
    }
}

// Using trait objects
fn print_area(shape: &dyn Shape) {
    println!("Area: {}", shape.area());
}

To use trait objects, you can create instances of your structs and pass them to functions that expect a trait object. Here’s how you can create instances and call a function using trait objects.

// Create instances of Circle and Rectangle
fn main() {
    let circle = Circle { radius: 2.0 };
    let rectangle = Rectangle { width: 3.0, height: 4.0 };

    // Pass references as trait objects
    print_area(&circle);
    print_area(&rectangle);
}