---
title: "How does Rust handle string manipulation and what is the difference between String and &str types?"  
description: "How does Rust handle string manipulation and what is the difference between String and &str types?"  
author: "Steilla Mitchel"  
published: 2023-07-10  
updated: 2023-07-11  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159022/how-does-rust-handle-string-manipulation-and-what-is-the-difference-between-string-and-str-types  
category: "rust"  
tags: ["string", "rust"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# How does Rust handle string manipulation and what is the difference between String and &str types?

How does [Rust](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/160170/explain-rust-s-ownership-borrowing-and-lifetimes-system) [handle](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/311004/suede-skillet-handle-cover) string [manipulation](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/63649/77-727-microsoft-excel-2016-core-data-analysis-manipulation-and-presentation-exam) and what is the [difference between String](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/85/difference-between-string-and-string-builder) and &str types?

## Replies

### Reply by Aryan Kumar

Rust handles [string](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/1527/string-split-in-c-sharp) manipulation in a similar way to other programming languages, with a few key differences.

- **String literals** are a special type of string that is statically allocated in the program's binary. This means that they cannot be changed after the program is compiled. String literals are denoted by using double quotes (`"`) around the string, for example:

Rust

```plaintext
let hello_world = "Hello, world!";
```

- **String objects** are a more flexible type of string that can be changed after the program is compiled. String objects are allocated in the heap, and they can grow or shrink as needed. String objects are created using the `String::from()` method, for example:

Rust

```plaintext
let mut hello_world = String::from("Hello, world!");
hello_world.push_str(" This is Rust");
```

- **The [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between** `string` **and** `&str`

The `string` and `&str` types are two different ways to represent strings in Rust. `string` is a growable, heap-allocated type, while `&str` is a reference to a fixed-size, statically allocated string.

In general, you should use `string` if you need to be able to change the string, and you should use `&str` if you don't need to change the string.

Here is a table that summarizes the key differences between `string` and `&str`:

| Feature | `string` | `&str` |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Memory allocation | Heap | Stack |
| Size | Can grow or shrink | Fixed |
| Mutability | Mutable | Immutable |
| Ownership | Owns the string data | Borrows the string data |

Here are some examples of string manipulation in Rust:

- **Getting the length of a string:**

Rust

```plaintext
let hello_world = "Hello, world!";
let length = hello_world.len();
```

- **Converting a string to uppercase:**

Rust

```plaintext
let hello_world = "Hello, world!";
let uppercase_hello_world = hello_world.to_uppercase();
```

- **Splitting a string into a vector of words:**

Rust

```plaintext
let hello_world = "Hello, world!";
let words = hello_world.split(" ").collect();
```

- **Replacing all occurrences of a substring with another substring:**

Rust

```plaintext
let hello_world = "Hello, world!";
let new_hello_world = hello_world.replace("world", "Rust");
```


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159022/how-does-rust-handle-string-manipulation-and-what-is-the-difference-between-string-and-str-types

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