We'll build a complete doubly-linked list from scratch in Rust, starting with a simple singly-linked stack and progressively evolving it into a full-featured doubly-linked list with raw pointers and unsafe code. Along the way we'll implement three iterator types (shared, mutable, and owning), convert from safe Box-based pointers to raw NonNull pointers, add panic-safe drop logic, and support bidirectional traversal — exploring Rust's ownership model, lifetime system, and unsafe abstractions in depth.
Rust
Raw Linked List in Rust
Data Structures
Create a linked list from scratch with unsafe memory, raw pointers, and custom drop guards.
12h 0min
36 modules
What You'll Build
Learning Objectives
Understand how linked lists work at the pointer level
Use Rust generics and type aliases to model recursive data structures
Implement push and pop operations for a singly-linked stack
Build shared, mutable, and owning iterators with proper lifetime annotations
Transition from safe Box pointers to raw NonNull pointers
Write a panic-safe Drop implementation using a drop guard
Extend a singly-linked list into a doubly-linked list with tail pointer
Implement DoubleEndedIterator for bidirectional traversal
Prerequisites
Basic Rust syntax (structs, enums, generics)
Understanding of ownership and borrowing
Familiarity with Option and pattern matching
Assembly Steps
1
Project Baseline
2
The Node Building Block
3
The LinkedList Container
4
Link Type Alias
5
Test-Driven API Stubs
6
Push Logic
7
Pop Logic
8
Default Trait
9
Shared Iterator Struct
10
Iterator Test Contract
11
Shared Iterator Traversal
12
Mutable Iterator Struct
13
Mutable Iterator Test Contract
14
Mutable Iterator Traversal
15
Owning Iterator Struct
16
Owning Iterator Test
17
IntoIterator Trait
18
Raw Pointers and Unsafe Memory
19
Panic-Safe Drop Guard
20
Tail Pointer
21
Previous Node Link
22
Front-Suffixed API
23
Back Push Test Contract
24
Back Push Logic
25
Back Pop Test Contract
26
Back Pop Logic
27
Reverse Owning Iteration
28
Bidirectional IntoIter Test
29
Length Tracking Field
30
Length and Emptiness API
31
Dual-Cursor Iter Layout
32
Reverse Iter Test
33
Bidirectional Shared Iteration
34
Dual-Cursor IterMut Layout
35
Reverse IterMut Test
36
Bidirectional Mutable Iteration
