Self vs self in Rust

In Rust, Self and self have different meanings and uses:

  • Self refers to the type that is implementing a trait or a method. It is used in type definitions and associated functions.
  • self refers to the instance of the type that is implementing a method. It is used in method signatures and method bodies.
#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
struct MyStruct;

impl MyStruct {
    // Associated function, uses `Self`
    fn new() -> Self {
        MyStruct
    }

    // Method, uses `self`
    fn consume(self) {
        // consume the instance
    }
}
}
  • Self is used in the new function to refer to the type MyStruct.
  • self is used in the consume method to refer to the instance of MyStruct.