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100-exercises-to-learn-rust/book/src/06_ticket_management/03_resizing.md
2024-05-12 22:47:45 +02:00

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# Resizing
We said that `Vec` is a "growable" vector type, but what does that mean?
What happens if you try to insert an element into a `Vec` that's already at maximum capacity?
```rust
let mut numbers = Vec::with_capacity(3);
numbers.push(1);
numbers.push(2);
numbers.push(3); // Max capacity reached
numbers.push(4); // What happens here?
```
The `Vec` will **resize** itself.
It will ask the allocator for a new (larger) chunk of heap memory, copy the elements over, and deallocate the old memory.
This operation can be expensive, as it involves a new memory allocation and copying all existing elements.
## `Vec::with_capacity`
If you have a rough idea of how many elements you'll store in a `Vec`, you can use the `Vec::with_capacity`
method to pre-allocate enough memory upfront.
This can avoid a new allocation when the `Vec` grows, but it may waste memory if you overestimate actual usage.
Evaluate on a case-by-case basis.