Opening & reading files

The primary function that will contain the logic of our Markdown compiler is parse_markdown_file(), which takes a single argument: a string slice (&str) that corresponds to the Markdown file we want to create.

Let’s go ahead and create that dummy file right now. Copy all of the below text into a new file called test.md, and save it in the root of your Rust project. The root of your Rust project also contains the manifest file (Cargo.toml), so just make sure test.md and Cargo.toml are in the same directory.

If you would rather just download test.md directly, you can right-click and save a copy via this link

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# My favorite author

This is a report about my favorite writer. His name is Jesse Lawson.

# Jesse's favorite food

Jesse really likes enchiladas and any kind of sushi. 

# Jesse's favorite drink

Jesse likes to drink coffee in the mornings and iced tea throughout the day. Sometimes, he even drinks water. 

# Jesse's favorite hobbies

Jesse likes to write about computer programming and game design, and when he is not hunched over a computer, you can find him out on a run and listening to a podcast or the serenity of mother nature. 
 

As you can see, one of my most endearing qualities is my humble modesty.

With test.md in the root of our project folder, we now have an actual file to open and read from.