2.2 Reading documentation and examples

Explanation

Documentation and examples are not the same. Documentation describes intended behavior. Examples show common usage. You need both, and you should prefer official sources when learning core Rust tools.

For Rust itself, start with the official Rust documentation. For crates, read the crate page on docs.rs, the crate README, and the repository when it is linked. GitHub issues can explain practical context, bugs, and design tradeoffs, but they are not the same as the API documentation.

A useful workflow is:

1. Find the official documentation page.
2. Read the short description.
3. Try a small Rust example in a Cargo project or Rust playground.
4. Look for examples in docs.rs, the crate README, and the repository.
5. Ask what can go wrong for your use case.

For example, if you are using tenferro typed tensors, check the current tenferro-rs documentation, crate names, import paths, and examples before trusting an AI-generated tensor operation. For random numbers, compare the AI answer with the rand crate documentation. For alternative array ecosystems, check ndarray and related crate docs.

Things to look up

  • Official Rust documentation
  • docs.rs
  • Official documentation
  • API reference
  • Example code
  • Minimal working example
  • Crate README
  • GitHub issues
  • Package repository
  • Package maintainer

Exercise

Choose one Rust item related to arrays, random numbers, or mathematics. Good choices include a tenferro, ndarray, or rand function or type. Find its official documentation and one example. Write down what it does, what inputs it expects, what it returns, and one possible mistake when using it.

Advanced exercise: Choose one Rust crate or scientific-computing topic that interests you. Ask an AI agent to find the official documentation, the docs.rs page, the crate README, the repository, and one relevant GitHub issue if it exists. Then open the sources yourself and write what each source is useful for.

Notes for the exercise

  • Use an official source when possible.
  • Do not copy a long documentation passage.
  • Explain the item in your own words.
  • Include one concrete input example.
  • Treat GitHub issues as practical context, not final authority.
  • Check dates, crate versions, and whether a maintainer comment is about the same version or problem you are studying.
  • Distinguish official documentation, examples, repository history, and individual opinion.