Rust Systems Programming
Master systems programming with Rust for performance-critical and memory-safe applications through ownership concepts, lifetime management, and concurrent programming.
Course Overview
This program covers ownership concepts, lifetime management, and concurrent programming without data races. Students learn trait systems, generic programming, and macro development for building efficient and maintainable systems applications.
The curriculum includes async programming with Tokio, FFI for C integration, and WebAssembly compilation. Participants build command-line tools, network services, and embedded systems applications demonstrating Rust's performance characteristics.
Designed for systems programmers seeking modern language expertise, this course emphasizes memory safety without garbage collection and zero-cost abstractions. Hands-on projects include developing operating system components, implementing network protocols, and creating high-performance web servers.
Career Development Outcomes
Graduates transition into systems programming roles at companies requiring performance-critical applications. Rust expertise is sought after for blockchain infrastructure, game engines, operating systems, embedded systems, and network programming positions.
Systems Portfolio
Build network servers, command-line utilities, and systems libraries demonstrating your understanding of low-level programming concepts with modern language safety guarantees.
Performance Engineering
Develop skills in profiling, optimization, and understanding performance characteristics. Learn to write code that matches C++ performance with stronger safety guarantees.
Modern Language Skills
Gain expertise in a language increasingly adopted for critical infrastructure. Companies migrating from C and C++ seek developers with Rust knowledge for reliability improvements.
Open Source Engagement
Participate in Rust's ecosystem by contributing to libraries and understanding community practices. Build reputation through public code contributions.
Technologies & Development Stack
Work with Rust toolchain and ecosystem crates used in production systems. Learn the same development practices employed by teams building critical infrastructure.
Core Technologies
- Rust compiler and cargo build system
- Tokio async runtime for concurrent operations
- Serde for serialization and deserialization
- WebAssembly target for browser deployment
- FFI bindings for C library integration
Development Practices
- Ownership and borrowing patterns
- Error handling with Result and Option types
- Testing with cargo test framework
- Performance profiling and optimization
- Documentation with rustdoc
Memory Safety & Performance Standards
Rust's ownership system eliminates entire classes of bugs at compile time. The course emphasizes understanding these safety guarantees while maintaining performance comparable to languages like C and C++.
Ownership and Borrowing
Master Rust's unique approach to memory management through ownership rules, borrowing mechanisms, and lifetime annotations. Understand how the compiler prevents data races and memory leaks without runtime overhead.
Zero-Cost Abstractions
Learn to write high-level code that compiles to efficient machine code. Rust's trait system and generics provide abstraction without performance penalties, enabling maintainable systems code.
Concurrency Without Data Races
Implement concurrent programs where the type system prevents data races at compile time. Use message passing and shared state patterns safely with compiler-verified correctness.
Designed For
This course serves programmers with systems programming interest or experience seeking modern language alternatives to C and C++. Prerequisites include understanding of basic programming concepts, familiarity with compiled languages, and comfort with command-line environments.
C/C++ Developers
Systems programmers looking to adopt safer alternatives while maintaining performance. Those seeking memory safety guarantees without sacrificing control over system resources.
Backend Engineers
Developers building high-performance services and APIs. Those needing to optimize resourcege and latency for systems handling significant load.
Infrastructure Engineers
Engineers building tools, libraries, and infrastructure components. Those working on compilers, databases, operating systems, or network protocols.
Embedded Developers
Engineers working on resource-constrained devices seeking memory safety. Those building firmware or embedded applications where reliability is critical.
Progress Assessment & Evaluation
Evaluation focuses on building progressively complex systems applications. Each module includes coding assignments demonstrating understanding of ownership, concurrency, and performance optimization principles.
Module Assignments
Complete exercises reinforcing ownership concepts, trait implementations, and async programming patterns. Assignments emphasize writing idiomatic Rust code that leverages the type system for correctness guarantees.
Systems Projects
Develop three applications demonstrating different aspects of systems programming: a multithreaded network server handling concurrent connections, a command-line tool for data processing, and a WebAssembly module for browser execution. These projects showcase your ability to write efficient, safe systems code.
Code Review Process
Participate in peer reviews focusing on code idioms, performance characteristics, and API design. Learn to provide constructive feedback on ownership patterns and suggest improvements for maintainability.
Begin Your Systems Programming Journey
Connect with our program advisors to discuss enrollment procedures, course schedule, and technical prerequisites. We can answer questions about curriculum content and help determine if this course aligns with your professional objectives.
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