Software Huddle Rewriting in Rust + Being a Learning Machine with AJ Stuyvenberg
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May 6, 2025 AJ Stuyvenberg, a Staff Engineer at Datadog, discusses the intriguing transition from Go to Rust while rewriting AWS Lambda extensions. He emphasizes the importance of performance and reliability, diving into the complexities of integrating third-party solutions. AJ shares insights on gaining project approval and the benefits of extensive performance optimization in serverless environments. He also offers practical advice for developers navigating the AWS ecosystem and the evolving landscape of database technologies.
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Rust Enables Faster Lambda Extensions
- Lambda extensions impact cold start latency critically, as they are in the request hot path.
- Rust rewrite improved performance and memory safety beyond what Go could achieve in this context.
Use Demos to Win Stakeholders
- Build a working demo early to prove your case when proposing a major rewrite.
- Benchmarks showing dramatic improvements greatly convince stakeholders.
Profile and Benchmark Every Change
- Use performance profiling tools continuously to measure impact of changes.
- Benchmark critical metrics like cold start latency and runtime overhead before merging PRs.