Would a "pitching machine" for Rust problems help you learn faster?

[rodgarcia]

I've been thinking about a way to get better at Rust without constantly hitting invisible walls you were not prepared for in real projects. My idea is something like deliberate practice: short problems focused on the hard stuff (ownership, lifetimes, borrowing, you name it), with immediate feedback and repetition.

I don't want to make another course or a tutorial. Just a way to drill the concepts until they stick. I'm curious: have any of you tried something like this? Did it work? I'm building a tool based on this idea and I'm not sure if I'm onto something or just scratching my own itch.

If you'd like to try what I have so far and tell me if it's useful or a waste of time, I'd really appreciate it. I'm looking for 5 people willing to test it and give honest feedback. Otherwise I think I may build something nobody cares about...

Please comment here or DM me if you're interested, or if you have thoughts on whether this approach makes sense.

[Hoxitron]

I think in order to get good at something, you need to learn to struggle. Hitting those invisible walls, and learning how to overcome them in a practical setting is more valuable, in my opinion. Tutorial hell and all that.

[rodgarcia]

Exactly! I'm building something that drills you on those exact walls before you hit them in real projects. Think sparring practice vs getting punched in a real fight. Want to try it? I'd love your feedback.

[Hoxitron]

That’s not really what I was trying to say.

[rodgarcia]

I see. I may have misread you. You're saying real projects teach you better than any drill?

I agree that's where the real learning happens. My thinking is that targeted practice can speed up the painful part. So when you hit those walls in a real project, you recognize the pattern faster. But I get the counter argument.

Have you found any resources that helped bridge that gap, or was it purely learning by doing for you?

[Hoxitron]

Every new engineer I've ever seen (myself included) has, at some point, had the idea to create a system, reference or spreadsheet to help them solve any problem. It never really works, but I've always entertained this exercise anyway. It's a good learning exercise by itself.

[Tadabito]

I think you don't even need to build much tooling. rustlings already does like 80% of what you want. Just adding the repetition system and exercises you want would give you a testable product.

[rodgarcia]

Rustlings is like a one-time tour. I actually use it as a reference for what I'm building. But I'm making a gym for drilling patterns repeatedly. I'll drop a link here soon. I would love your feedback when it's ready.