lab.md

Practice Lab: Build a Command Line tool to list files in a directory

In this lab, you will build a command line tool that lists files in a directory. The tool will take a directory path as an argument and list all the files in the directory. By default, if no directory path is provided, the tool will list files in the current directory.

Learning Objectives

• Create a command line tool using the Rust programming language
• Use the Clap framework to parse command line arguments
• Use the std::fs module to read files and directories

Steps:

For an easy setup with all dependencies installed and a pre-configured Rust and Cargo, open the repository with Codespaces

Alternate setup: Create a new repository in your account for your Rust project. Use this link to create it in one step.

1. Use the Clap framework to parse command line arguments. Use the simple example in this repository as a reference
2. Use the std::fs module to read files. For example:

use std::fs;

fn main() {
    let path = ".";
    let paths = fs::read_dir(path).unwrap();
    for path in paths {
        println!("Name: {}", path.unwrap().path().display())
    }
}

Bonus challenge: Add options to your tool to list files recursively and to list hidden files.

Concepts Covered:

• Build a command line tool using the Rust programming language
• Use the Clap framework to parse command line arguments
• Using the Rust standard library to read files and directories

By completing this lab, you have demonstrated that you can create a command line tool using the Rust programming language. You have also demonstrated that you can use the Clap framework to parse command line arguments and the Rust standard library to read files and directories.