Rust is known for its distinctive set of features that set it apart from other programming languages. Here are some of the main features of Rust:

1. Memory Safety : Rust's ownership system ensures memory safety by enforcing strict rules at compile time. It prevents common issues such as null pointer dereferences, dangling pointers, buffer overflows, and data races. This feature eliminates a significant class of bugs and improves the reliability and security of Rust programs.

2. Ownership and Borrowing : Rust introduces a unique ownership system that governs how memory is managed. Each value in Rust has a single owner, and ownership can be transferred or borrowed using explicit rules. This allows for efficient memory management without the need for a garbage collector.

3. Concurrency without Data Races : Rust provides built-in concurrency primitives, such as threads and channels, that allow developers to write concurrent and parallel programs safely. The ownership system and the type system ensure that data races, a common issue in concurrent programming, are caught at compile time.

4. Pattern Matching : Rust has a powerful pattern matching feature that allows developers to match and destructure complex data structures easily. It simplifies tasks such as error handling, parsing, and data manipulation.

5. Traits and Generics : Rust supports traits, which are similar to interfaces in other languages, allowing for code reuse and polymorphism. Traits enable generic programming and can be used to define behavior that is shared across different types. 6. Zero-cost Abstractions : Rust emphasizes performance without sacrificing safety or expressiveness. It achieves this through a principle called "zero-cost abstractions," where high-level abstractions incur no runtime overhead. Rust allows developers to write high-level code that is as performant as low-level code.

7. Error Handling : Rust has a robust and expressive error handling mechanism. It uses the `Result` type for returning and propagating errors, enabling developers to handle and recover from errors in a controlled manner.

8. Cargo Package Manager : Rust comes with a powerful package manager called Cargo. It simplifies project management, dependency management, and building, testing, and publishing Rust projects. Cargo has become an integral part of the Rust ecosystem and greatly enhances developer productivity.

9. Interoperability : Rust has excellent interoperability with other languages. It provides foreign function interfaces (FFI) to integrate with C and other languages, making it possible to reuse existing libraries and work in multi-language environments.

10. Community and Tooling : Rust has a vibrant and active community that contributes to its development, documentation, and ecosystem. The language has a growing number of libraries, frameworks, and tools that make it easier to develop a wide range of applications.