16.8 Summary
In Rust, type conversions must be explicit. While the as keyword allows convenient casting between certain primitive types, it does no checking and can silently truncate or reinterpret data. The From and Into traits (along with their fallible counterparts, TryFrom and TryInto) lay the groundwork for robust and expressive conversion patterns, ensuring success or returning an error instead of failing silently. For string-related conversions, implementing Display and FromStr is both common and idiomatic.
In rare circumstances that demand bit-level reinterpretation, transmute allows maximum flexibility at the cost of bypassing the compiler’s safety checks. With careful usage of Rust’s conversion tools and the help of linter tools like Clippy, your code can remain clear, reliable, and easy to maintain.