The first thing that jumps out is that the code example doesn't work.
The next thing is that the example merely calls cargo build. Using an IDE of any sort will typically invoke rust-analyzer which will bloat the target directory quite a bit. I've also found that stale build artifacts tend to chew up a lot of space (especially if you're trying to measure the typically smaller release builds).
Beyond that, none of the serde features that will tend to generate a ton of code are being used.
So yeah a minimal example won't use a lot of space but if you start to use the bells and whistles serde brings you will definitely bloat your target directory. I expect a typical rust project to take around 3–4 gigs for build artifacts depending.
> The first thing that jumps out is that the code example doesn't work.
Good catch. I forgot the braces. It does not change the target directory size in a significant way.
As for your other comments: sure! We can have a real conversation about rust-analyzer and other serde features (though I am not sure which specific features you are referring to) causing the target directory to increase drastically in size. However, a sensationalist comment that claims the _dependencies_ are 3gb appears to be misleading at best.
> So yeah a minimal example won't use a lot of space but if you start to use the bells and whistles serde brings you will definitely bloat your target directory.
Which seems orthogonal to the number of dependencies?
The next thing is that the example merely calls cargo build. Using an IDE of any sort will typically invoke rust-analyzer which will bloat the target directory quite a bit. I've also found that stale build artifacts tend to chew up a lot of space (especially if you're trying to measure the typically smaller release builds).
Beyond that, none of the serde features that will tend to generate a ton of code are being used.
So yeah a minimal example won't use a lot of space but if you start to use the bells and whistles serde brings you will definitely bloat your target directory. I expect a typical rust project to take around 3–4 gigs for build artifacts depending.