Chapter 10: Enums and Pattern Matching

In this chapter, we delve into one of Rust's most powerful and unique features: enums. Rust's enums are more versatile than those in C, combining the functionality of both C's enums and unions. They allow you to define a type by enumerating its possible variants, which can be simple values or complex data structures. In programming literature, these enums are also known as algebraic data types, sum types, or tagged unions, concepts present in languages like Haskell, OCaml, and Swift.

We'll explore how enums work in Rust, their advantages over plain integer constants, and how they can be used to create robust and type-safe code. We'll also introduce pattern matching, an essential tool for working with enums that allows you to write concise and expressive code for handling different data variants.