Where is Rust being used?

Summary

This video explores the growing adoption of Rust in various industries, highlighting its unique benefits such as peak performance and memory safety. It categorizes industries into strong, growing, and experimental adoption of Rust, with cloud infrastructure, web 3, systems programming, and embedded systems leading the way. The video also offers insights into securing a Rust job by emphasizing the need for mastery of the language, production-level experience, and networking within the Rust community.

Takeaways

• 🤖 Rust is increasingly adopted for its combination of performance and memory safety, making it ideal for robust, efficient, and future-proof software.
• 🌐 Major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are using Rust for new projects, highlighting its strong adoption in cloud infrastructure and backend development.
• 🔐 Rust's memory safety features are particularly valuable in low-level programming and systems development, which is why it's being incorporated into projects like Firefox's engine and the Linux kernel.
• 💡 The Web 3.0 ecosystem heavily relies on Rust, with blockchain platforms like Solana and Polkadot using it for smart contracts and core development.
• 🚀 Emerging industries such as aerospace and robotics are beginning to adopt Rust for mission-critical software due to its reliability and safety.
• 🔒 Cybersecurity is another growing field where Rust is being used for security-critical components, demonstrating its potential in safeguarding software.
• 💼 The finance and fintech industries are recognizing the benefits of Rust, with companies like Two Sigma and Kraken leveraging it for backend systems.
• 🧠 Machine learning and data science are witnessing the rise of Rust, with tools like Hugging Face's ecosystem and the Polar data frame library showing its performance advantages.
• 🎮 The gaming industry is exploring Rust for developing tech stacks, indicating its potential for performance-intensive applications.
• 🔄 Rust's success in various industries is driving interest in other sectors, suggesting a growing trend of adoption beyond its current strongholds.
• 📈 To land a Rust job, one must master the language's fundamentals, build production-grade software, and establish connections within the Rust community and industry.

Q & A

Why are companies turning to Rust for their software development?

Companies are turning to Rust because it offers a unique combination of peak performance and memory safety, eliminating a class of bugs. It also provides modern language features and powerful tooling, such as a built-in package manager, and a robust type system that contributes to highly maintainable code bases.

What are the three categories of industries adopting Rust?

The three categories are strong adoption, where top tech companies are using Rust especially for new projects; growing adoption, where Rust usage is noticeably increasing; and experimental adoption, which includes industries in the early stages of exploring Rust's potential.

Which major cloud providers are building cloud infrastructure in Rust?

AWS, Azure, and Google are all building cloud infrastructure in Rust, with AWS using it for projects like Firecracker and Bottle Rocket, and Azure having a policy to write new projects in Rust when a non-garbage collected language is needed.

How is Rust being used in the Web 3.0 ecosystem?

Rust is used extensively in the Web 3.0 ecosystem, with platforms like Solana and Polkadot using Rust for their core development and smart contracts. It is also used for tooling, such as the Foundry toolkit for Ethereum app development and the Lightning Development Kit for Bitcoin.

What is Rust's role in systems and low-level programming?

Rust is being used in systems and low-level programming for projects that require memory safety and performance. Examples include parts of Firefox's engine, the Linux kernel, core Windows code, and Android's new native code in Android 13.

How is Rust being adopted in the cybersecurity industry?

Rust is being adopted for security-critical components across various products due to its memory safety features. Companies like Microsoft and 1Password are using Rust in their backend systems, including for encryption, networking, and database operations.

What opportunities does Rust offer in the finance and fintech industry?

Rust is being used in the finance and fintech industry for backend systems and batch processing. Companies like Two Sigma and Kraken are hiring Rust developers, and Braintree, a global payments company owned by PayPal, uses Rust to speed up batch processing.

How is Rust being utilized in the machine learning and data science fields?

Rust is being used to build infrastructure for machine learning platforms like Grock, and for components within the Hugging Face ecosystem. The data frames library Polar is also written in Rust, offering high performance as an alternative to Pandas.

What emerging industries are showing interest in Rust adoption?

Emerging industries showing interest in Rust include aerospace and avionics, robotics, and gaming. Companies are using Rust for flight systems, satellite infrastructure, autonomous lawnmowers, and game development.

What are the three key things needed to land a Rust position?

To land a Rust position, one needs to know the fundamentals of Rust and be able to write idiomatic code, have experience building production-grade Rust software, and have the right connections within the Rust community and with recruiters.

What resources are available for those interested in becoming Rust developers?

For those interested in becoming Rust developers, there are resources such as the Rust community, recruiters who specialize in Rust positions, and experienced developers who can provide referrals and guidance.