What does -> mean in Rust?

Question

Rust

fn main(){
    let message = get_message();
    println!("message: {}", message);
}
 
fn get_message<'a>() -> &'a str {
    "hello"
}

Here in this code, for example, fn get_message<'a>() -> &'a str why, when and why is -> used?

Answer 1

Rustbook: "Functions that return values" is just part of the syntax of rusty functions, which is used when you need to explicitly indicate the return type.