netstack.fm zerocopy with Joshua Liebow-Feeser
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Oct 21, 2025 Joshua Liebow-Feeser, a software engineer at Google and the visionary behind the zerocopy Rust crate, shares his journey from software development to creating high-performance systems. He dives into the origins of Fuchsia, the benefits of zero-copy memory manipulation, and how Rust enhances safety in networking stacks. Joshua elaborates on the design philosophy of NetStack 3, emphasizing type safety and correctness. He also discusses the challenges of variable-length data and the importance of formal verification in building robust software.
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Train Precise Thinking With Discrete Math
- Take discrete math and practice proofs to train precise thinking useful in systems engineering.
- You don't need to use proofs daily, but the habit of precise reasoning separates great engineers from good ones.
Types Encode Correctness
- Rust's type system forces precise thinking and lets you encode correctness in types so mistakes fail at compile time.
- That makes ambitious APIs and optimizations safer to attempt because the compiler catches many errors early.
RFCs Turn Constraints Into Freedom
- Networking protocols provide precise correctness boundaries (RFCs) that free designers to focus on implementation quality.
- That specification clarity lets teams innovate on software engineering rather than reinventing requirements.