Living Tissue Over A Rusty Endoskeleton

[flaki]

Node changed the JS landscape in quite unexpected ways. When JavaScript arrived on microcontrollers, first it was just higher-powered IC-s running node.js, controlling all the bleepy-bloopy, blinky bits. Not too long, though, until Espruino, Tessel and the myriad of JS-based microcontrollers brought JavaScript even closer to the metal, giving the web developer community ever-expanding new frontiers to conquer.

(Node.)JS is a hellishly powerful tool, but on tiny SoCs, megahertzs and gigabytes won't come easy - performance might very well be in the eye of the beholder. Enter Tessel 2, introducing JS and Rust support and all perf-nerds could now squeal in joy as the easier-than-most system programming language takes you dangerously close to the heavy metal — but... you wouldn't want to write your networking code in Rust, would you? The dark magic, savior of all comes in the face of node-ffi, showing you the shaolin way of mix-and-match: by calling your swift Rust code from your node.js exoskeleton, giving birth to this unlikely hybrid creature. Ease of use and performance? Why well, choose... maybe both?

I will show/demo both JS & Rust code driving all the blinkies and buzzers you could imagine via a Tessel 2, also churning out even the last bit of performance using native-compiled Rust modules invoked by node to make sure our virtual/digital and physical/flesh-and-metal worlds interact seamlessly like Swiss clockwork.

[steveklabnik]

I'm not currently planning on attending NodeConf EU, but would certainly watch this talk on video after. :)

[mikeal]

heya, we need to contact you about your talk. can you send your email address to mikeal.rogers@gmail.com :)

[flaki]

Sorry @mikeal, was convinced my e-mail address was displayed on my profile. Dropped you a mail!