"Type-Driven API Design in Rust" by Will Crichton

Will Crichton demonstrates how to use Rust's type system and traits to design safe, composable APIs that catch errors at compile-time.

Rust is a unique programming language that blends imperative and functional concepts to make low-level systems safer. However, compared to other modern languages, designing APIs in Rust requires a fundamentally different mindset -- for example, designing without classes or inheritance. In this talk, I will live-code the design of a simple Rust API. Through the evolution of the API, I will demonstrate how Rust’s type system (especially traits) can be used to design interfaces that cleanly compose with existing code, and that help API clients catch mistakes at compile-time. Will Crichton Stanford University @wcrichton Will Crichton is a 6th year CS Ph.D. student at Stanford University advised by Profs. Pat Hanrahan and Maneesh Agrawala. His research is about applying cognitive psychology and programming language theory to understand programmers and to design better programming tools. Recorded at Strange Loop 2021 thestrangeloop.com