Rust in Production

Zed with Conrad Irwin

Oct 17, 2024

Conrad Irwin, a seasoned developer known for his work on Superhuman, discusses his journey with Zed, a cutting-edge text editor built from scratch. He delves into the innovative use of Rust and GPU rendering, pushing the boundaries of performance. Interesting topics include enhancing type safety with custom smart pointers, the implementation of async solutions for seamless GPU interfaces, and integrating WebAssembly with Tree Sitter for improved coding capabilities. Conrad also emphasizes the importance of community in collaborative coding and overcoming challenges in large file editing.

01:02:49

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Episode guests

Conrad Irwin

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Zed distinguishes itself by integrating real-time collaboration features into its code editor, addressing a significant gap in existing tools.

Utilizing unique GPU rendering techniques and TreeSitter for parsing enables Zed to deliver a faster and more fluid user experience than traditional editors.

The development process at Zed prioritizes community involvement and user feedback, fostering a collaborative environment for continuous improvement and evolution.

Deep dives

The Need for a New Code Editor

Existing code editors often lack real-time collaboration, which is a standard feature in many modern tools like Google Docs and Figma. This gap leaves programmers stuck in traditional workflows where collaboration involves cumbersome processes like Git commits and pushes. Zed aims to change this by providing a code editor that focuses on collaboration, speed, and seamless integration with modern tools. Additionally, Zed promises to alleviate the frustrations common in editors like VS Code and NeoVim, which tend to be slow and require extensive setup for optimal use.

Intro

3min

Revolutionizing Code Editing with Rust

11min

Enhancing Type Safety in Rendering Frameworks

2min

Building Async Solutions for GPU Interfaces

19min

Integration of WebAssembly with Tree Sitter and Future Extension Plans

2min

Optimizing Performance in Rust Development

17min

Navigating Bugs and Innovative Solutions in Large File Editing

2min

Enhancing Collaborative Coding and Community Engagement

6min

About Zed Industries

Zed isn't afraid of daunting tasks. Not only have they built a text editor from scratch, but they've also developed their own GUI toolkit, implemented advanced parsing techniques like tree-sitter, and integrated multi-user collaboration features directly into the editor. Zed is a text editor built for the future, with meticulous attention to detail and a focus on exceptional performance.

About Conrad Irwin

Before joining Zed, Conrad worked on Superhuman, an email client renowned for its speed and efficiency. He is a seasoned developer with a deep understanding of performance optimization and building fast, reliable software. Conrad is passionate about open-source software and is a strong advocate for Rust. He's also an excellent pair-programming partner and invites people to join him while working on Zed.

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Links From The Show

Superhuman - High-performance email client known for its speed and efficiency
Visual Studio Code - Popular, extensible code editor
Neovim - Vim-based text editor focused on extensibility and usability
gpui crate - Zed's custom GUI toolkit for building fast, native user interfaces
Leptos - Rust framework for building reactive web applications
Dioxus - Rust library for building cross-platform user interfaces
Tokio - Asynchronous runtime for Rust, powering many network applications
async-std - Asynchronous version of the Rust standard library
smol - Small and fast async runtime for Rust
Glommio - Thread-per-core Rust async framework with a Linux-specific runtime
isahc - HTTP client library that supports multiple async runtimes
Zed Editor YouTube channel - Official channel for Zed editor tutorials and updates
Tree-sitter - Parser generator tool and incremental parsing library
Semgrep - Static analysis tool for finding and preventing bugs
Zed release changelogs - Official changelog for Zed editor releases
matklad's blog post: "Flat Is Better Than Nested" - Discusses organizing large Rust projects with a flat structure
rust-analyzer - Advanced language server for Rust, providing IDE-like features
Protobuf Rust crate - Protocol Buffers implementation for Rust
Postcard - Compact serialization format for Rust, designed for resource-constrained systems
CBOR - Concise Binary Object Representation, a data format similar to JSON but more compact
MessagePack - Efficient binary serialization format
RON (Rusty Object Notation) - Simple readable data serialization format similar to Rust syntax
James Munns' blog - Embedded systems expert and Rust consultant's blog
Delve - Debugger for the Go programming language
LLDB - Next generation, high-performance debugger used with Rust and other LLVM languages

Official Links

About corrode

"Rust in Production" is a podcast by corrode, a company that helps teams adopt Rust. We offer training, consulting, and development services to help you succeed with Rust. If you want to learn more about how we can help you, please get in touch.

https://corrode.dev/about