In Rust, Cargo is the package manager and build tool that creates and manages projects and their dependencies. Cargo provides ways to easily build, test, document, and publish code.
Cargo uses a file called Cargo.toml to manage the configuration and dependencies of a Rust project. The Cargo.toml file specifies the name of the package, version information, and the dependencies of the project. Cargo also provides a command-line interface that allows developers to manage their Rust projects and dependencies easily.
A cargo package is called a "crate". A crate can be a binary or a library. A binary crate is an executable program. A library crate is code that can be used by other programs.
Cargo provides a standardized directory structure for Rust projects. By convention, the main source code of a project is placed in a directory called src, and the project configuration and dependencies are specified in a file called Cargo.toml. Cargo uses the Cargo.lock file to keep track of exact dependency versions used in the project.
Cargo also provides a number of commands to manage a Rust project. Some of the commonly used commands include:
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cargo new: Create a new Rust project. -
cargo build: Build the project and its dependencies. -
cargo run: Build and run the project. -
cargo test: Run the project tests. -
cargo doc: Generates documentation for the project. -
cargo publish: Publishes a crate to the official registry.