Q&A December 2023

Links from the stream:
Atomic operator in Raku/Perl 6: andrewshitov.com/2019/09/09/a...
Helsing on Glassdoor: www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Hel...
Simon Singh's The Code Book: simonsingh.net/books/the-code...
Rustc dev guide: rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org...
I automated my bad keyboard: / i_automated_my_bad_key...
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:31 How is work at Helsing?
0:09:26 What software are you using?
0:14:57 What do you think about Zig ?
0:16:16 What's the pathway to become a contributor to the Rust Language?
0:23:42 What languages did you use before Rust?
0:31:20 How did you get such a good, deep understanding of Rust?
0:34:05 How's life now back in Norway?
0:38:46 Does WASM have a real future outside the web realm?
0:40:55 My code feels way too simple. What am I doing wrong?
0:42:55 How do you now feel about AI code tools like GitHub Copilot?
0:48:55 Rust's concurrency model compared to other languages you've worked with.
0:51:04 Video on embedded programming when?
0:54:23 AsyncIterator: poll_next + Generator Syntax or just next?
0:56:01 How do you test for concurrency bugs?
1:02:14 What social platform do you get most value out of?
1:11:05 Rust Foundation developing an official training and certification program.
1:16:25 Why don't you use a Mac? is Linux actually that good?
1:18:03 Is Ferrocene the right starting point for Rust in Space/Avionics?
1:22:27 How is your experience of the culture, wlb and leadership style at Helsing?
1:35:06 What does the role of Principal Engineer entail?
1:39:15 Are you just using vanilla neovim for Rust?
1:41:18 Will Rust 2.0 be just another release or will it be different?
1:42:13 How can I get a job working in the Rust ecosystem?
1:45:03 Why are there so few Rust jobs?
1:50:07 What's your favorite book?
1:53:58 What’s the biggest cultural difference of working in EU vs USA?
1:56:40 What did you like/dislike about Amazon compared to Helsing?
2:00:31 What do you do while waiting for Rust to compile on a big codebase?
2:01:21 How do you feel about mathematics in computer science?
2:03:12 If you had kids, would you want them to grow up in the US or in Nordic countries?
2:06:35 Will you do some advent of code in rust?
2:07:31 What's a project you would like to start, but haven't had the time to start it?
2:15:34 What are your thoughts on CTFs? Have you ever played them?
2:15:49 How are you so cool?
2:15:59 How are the cats adjusting to the move?
2:16:30 How are you doing?
2:17:28 Any ideas to make profiling of Rust programs better?
2:17:59 How do you use properly mpsc receiver on a separate thread?
2:18:29 Do you use a debugger, print, or both?
2:19:00 What's your Rust 2.0 wishlist?
2:19:37 What do you think about certifications?
2:20:10 Why do you look so old?
2:20:30 Any tips on how to increase my salary (in LatAm)?
2:21:23 What does your ideal team look like?
2:22:53 Is there any issue/topic that you are too busy to do but would love if someone did it?
2:24:45 What are some beginner-friendly open-source Rust projects that may hire remotely?
2:25:53 Are there jobs for junior Rust developers?
2:26:23 Can you give any advice on Statement of Purpose and Letters of Recommendation?
2:29:26 What do you think of Rust's 2024 roadmap?
2:31:11 Go vote for the last question...
2:33:22 How do you get excited to build stuff and improve without getting burnt out?
Live version with chat: kzbin.infovxsFrCimNkg

[@Luxalpa]

I wish you had content like this on Spotify. It is really nice listening to you while drawing or going for a walk! I learned so much from the release reviews on rustacean station.

[@reviraemusic]

*rustacean station*

[@bloody80]

I feel like you are the most ideal person to ask this question: "How could I have rust-like memory guarantees for distributed systems?" (Use-case: We'd like to have an atomic operation across a fleet of nodes maintained using Kubernetes e.g.. One idea is to have a distributed lock using Redis or a "3rd" system, but could we come up with a library that could give similar semantics to how Rust provides guarantees for a single node). Thanks in advance

[@bloody80]

Feels like we all need to push @Jon to answer this question for us. Please mate, help out an enthusiast Rustacean ( with your book ;)

[@CBJamo]

For embedded, I recommend looking through the catalogs of Adafruit, Sparkfun, and/or Mikroe for a sensor or maybe display you think would be neat to play with and build something with that. Personally, I also recommend the rp2040 as your micro, it has excellent support in embassy and rp-hal. Edit: The last battle simulator might be the nerdiest thing I've ever heard someone describe. I love it.

[@Heater-v1.0.0]

Hey, I program traffic lights. I've been involved in traffic light control software since 1996. I'm not sure I have anything interesting to say about it. Apart from the fact that it can get a lot more complex than one would ever imagine from the outside. Now working on getting Rust into that world.

[@q1joe]

What is the primary language in use now, C++?

[@Heater-v1.0.0]

@@q1joe In my neck of the woods, Scandinavia, all traffic light controllers in the year 1996 were running on 16 bit Intel 8086 microprocessors and written in assembler with no OS. That was the year I was hired to recreate that functionality in C so that it could migrate to Motorola 68000 on an OS like PSOS and enable further development. An interesting job given no documentation and almost zero comments in the code (in Swedish!) A few years later a lot of functionality was added in C++ the actual control was still C. The hardware progressed to PowerPC running Linux and now ARM. We migrated from PSOS to VxWorks and then embedded Linux. I have not worked for those companies for some years but I gather that is still the situation.

[@pawe460]

Hi Jon, what about some code review series for patrons?

[@steveoc64]

Interesting comment about the jobs situation, and the availability of senior engineers who would like to work on Rust projects. I understand there are a lot of junior devs who are into Rust, and would love to see that job market take off, but I don't think there is the same enthusiasm amongst all senior devs. Anecdotally, from my experience anyway, more than half of the senior engineers that I know personally would never apply for a Rust job, if given half a choice. The reasons given are usually the same (they are simply not interested / don't want to get involved / have other tools they would much rather use). So maybe it's not a case of a lack of top-tier developers being available for hire ... but more a lack of interest in Rust amongst the more experienced devs..

[@DmitryVoytik]

Thanks for the stream! Is agree about the Rust foundation. Many good folks like Primeagen hype and/or troll the Rust foundation missteps without even trying to suggest what should be changed. We should ignore this as a noise.

[@stacknewbie3815]

I missed it thanks for the upload

[@gakman]

That's good burn out advice. It's really true. Breaks help a lot.

[@kootenpv]

24:00 Haha omg... First programming batch anekdote was hilarious in its innocence

[@HululusLabs]

rp2040 is great for embedded. Long before embassy 1.0, I messed with a feather from adafruit, with their GPS and LoRa wings. I hit some snags, but now that embassy is stable I'm going to pick that project back up

[@nickmills8476]

I’m sure there is demand and compatible client profiles in Asia right now.

[@TheDamisBlaine]

When you use fish, have you have problem with some tools which require bash or install it?

[@jonhoo]

Nope! Have had no such problems.

[@mikkelens]

The true positive aspect of unix philosophy is that a tool that follows the philosophy may easily be replaced :D

[@flohs226]

Hi Jon, I've been following your videos and really appreciate the insights you share. I've also gone through your GitHub configs and noticed your tmux setup. It's quite comprehensive, but I couldn't find any specific configurations related to session persistence. Given the complexity of your workflows, I was wondering if you use any method for persisting tmux sessions across restarts? Do you use tools like tmux-resurrect or tmux-continuum, or perhaps another method? Any insights on how you manage your tmux sessions would be greatly helpful. Thanks a lot in advance! 🙂

[@jonhoo]

Hey! Nope, I just start what I need when I need them - I don't end up with overly complicated terminal setups anyway it turns out :p

[@billeterk]

I missed out on free tertiary by a year In Melbourne but HECS was ok. Felt a little unfair at the time though :-)

[@aragaoduarte]

Please make the Forgotten Tech podcast

[@HalvorFladsrudBoe]

I’m also living in Oslo and program Rust. Are you aware of an existing community?

[@jonhoo]

Rust Oslo: meetu.ps/c/2N0x0/z2g52/d

[@user-gc8wr5dp4k]

The best teacher!

[@Heater-v1.0.0]

"Moral hangups about working for a defence company"? Is that really a question when Russia has been invading Ukraine for two years on a rampage of destruction and genocide. When Russia has expressed its intension to take more of Europe and threatens to nuke anyone who stands in their way. Standing by and doing nothing in the face of all that is allowing people to be killed, tortured and subjugated. Standing by or objecting to defence efforts is an immoral stance. Ones "moral hang up" should be about not doing anything to defend freedom and democracy and actual lives of actual people.

[@timothynguyen2313]

*defense

[@Heater-v1.0.0]

@@timothynguyen2313 What do you mean? "Defence" is the correct spelling in English. Perhaps not in American and other languages.

[@markocvejic6416]

And what is NATO doing? Or any force in general. Bigger f** smaller, and that will never change. Just look what Israel is doing to Gaza, it is beyond genocide. Or france and Belgum in africa.. Human rights are joke, small guys must acept it, while big guys who invent the rules, can break them under force anytime they want.. Humas are animals, fighting for resources.. Nothing more, nothing less..