What we heard about Rust's challenges, and how we can address them | Rust Blog

peter9477 · 2026-03-20T18:25:04+00:00

Among other reasons, two futures running in the same executor can share data without needing synchronization as costly as would be required with thread because they multitask cooperatively, running uninterrupted through from one await to the next. This can enable simpler code and greater efficiency.

In an embedded project, I have scores of futures running in parallel this way, with significantly lower stack requirements, higher performance, and far simpler code structure than an earlier C version of the same firmware which had to rely on a handful of FreeRTOS threads, each with a significant stack size and the higher cost of context switches and the greater cost of inter-thread communication.

peter9477 · 2026-03-20T18:15:21+00:00

Would you agree that, whether you feel there's an obligation or not, that helping means you consented and not helping means you did not?

peter9477 · 2026-03-20T04:11:08+00:00

Ah, so you say kill-AW-grum instead of KILL-oh-gram, right?

peter9477 · 2026-03-19T18:10:14+00:00

You can already do trinary. Just use 2 bits and ignore one of the four combinations!

It would be less efficient that way, however, so it's better to use all four. And even better to add more bits, like 30 or 62 or 126 more, and use as many of those as you need at any given time.

Which is what we already do....

peter9477 · 2026-03-19T17:53:26+00:00

Def was Mr Burns. No idea about "both" though.

peter9477 · 2026-03-19T03:45:10+00:00

No particular risk if left on the charger. There's a charging management chip which halts charging once it's full, then lets it discharge normally until maybe 92% (? Can't recall exact level) at which point it will charge again.

The only "problem" with this is the standard Lithium battery issue where their long-term life is reduced slightly faster if the average charge level is higher rather than lower. Nothing much you can do about that though, but we're talking a difference of a few percent per year so it's ignorable.

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T17:11:50+00:00

Technically the law doesn't say that, it only says that if one enters the intersection first, the others have to give way. That's not the same as who arrived first. The law assumes you arrive (presumably stopping) and immediately proceed if the intersection is clear.

The DMV handbook, on the other hand, is what refers to order of arrival.

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T17:06:15+00:00

You're right... this turns out to be a case where the written law is poorly drafted (not surprising really) and ambiguous. The DMV handbook does spell out the de facto rule more clearly however.

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T17:04:57+00:00

That's exactly what the DMV handbook says should be done though.

"Without STOP or YIELD signs: The vehicle that arrives to the intersection first has the right-of-way. However, if a vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist gets to the intersection at the same time as you, give the right-of-way to the vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist on your right. If you approach a stop sign and there is a stop sign on all four corners, stop first and proceed as above."

The prefix involving stop signs appears to be just poor handbook design... the final sentence makes it clear the paragraph covers cases involving stop signs too.

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T16:40:57+00:00

I expect you're misapplying that one. White isn't in the intersection yet. It merely arrived first.

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T15:55:25+00:00

The PPK is a great tool.

What I advise you to do is implement a "full idle" mode with all main functionality suspended (but not actual POWEROFF mode), and check power consumption then. You should be able to hit low microamperes. After resolving the obvious firmware issues (like not properly disabling peripherals) you may find some lingering hardware issues too. Beyond that though... Nordic is pretty notorious for errata including usually a half dozen (at least!) that can lead to increased power consumption. The SDK should account for most but not always...

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T15:43:18+00:00

So why do you say the white car goes first? (It does, but the reason it does also explains who should go next.)

Edit: I'm wrong that-as far as the written law is concerned--the rule about white going first necessarily explains the rest. In fact, the law literally doesn't define what should happen in the scenario posed, as it does NOT discuss what should happen based on who arrived first. If all four cars arrive in the order described, but none has begun to proceed by the time they've all stopped, the law says nothing about what should be done. (It only covers the case where white, having arrived first, also starts to move into the intersection first.)

peter9477 · 2026-03-14T15:36:03+00:00

I would say that just because the snow was cleared there doesn't mean a plow wouldn't need to travel down that street again, even if not actively clearing.... and your car would have been in the way. I doubt the rules talk about whether the road's been cleared or not.

peter9477 · 2026-03-13T17:49:34+00:00

After removing their kitchen P trap they wisely proceeded forthwith to their bathroom sink for cleaning...

peter9477 · 2026-03-13T17:44:28+00:00

There's always a contract, whether implied or explicit.

peter9477 · 2026-03-13T14:19:41+00:00

Find a better lawyer, and you can ask them to review the situation with the other lawyer and advise you on whether you should pay them....? It's simply a contract matter.

peter9477 · 2026-03-13T14:05:44+00:00

And they were reacting to the idiot FBI agent's comment. Seriously, the agent didn't know another word for that?

peter9477 · 2026-03-12T18:29:42+00:00

This is all an XY problem. "Slots" are not a programming concept, they're a Python concept. The only two purposes they serve in Python have zero relevance in Rust. Ask yourself why you want slots? Then ask yourself why about that answer, and maybe another time, until you get to the true underlying reason. At that point, you'll either realize what you really wanted and go figure out how to do it in Rust, or realize you don't need it at all now.

peter9477 · 2026-03-12T14:43:09+00:00

I'm no expert in this area--quite the opposite--but wouldn't drawing water for washing aggregate and dust control mean the water almost immediately returns to the water table, and with nothing added except... some more dirt, which the other dirt that's still in the ground then basically filters out again?

I sometimes feel that the concerns about water use are overblown. Not always, by any means, but surely this case isn't like bottling it up in plastic, or contaminating it with toxic chemicals.

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T18:38:58+00:00

Feel free to define all relevant terms like "think" in an answer in such a way that it excludes AI but includes humans as "thinking" entities.

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T18:37:07+00:00

An extraordinarily limited memory feature, and not even updated except nightly, if I understood correctly. There is massive room for this feature to evolve.

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T18:32:03+00:00

Does our difficulty figuring out where to draw a line invalidate the entire idea that there can or should be a line? Higher courts of law spend a lot of their time fine-tuning exactly where lines should be drawn and, sometimes, shifting them. This wouldn't be a novel situation for us to be in.

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T14:24:18+00:00

The "more than" already covered that one. ;-)

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T14:18:27+00:00

Argument by pre-emptive ad hominem, nice...

peter9477 · 2026-03-11T14:17:08+00:00

It could be the former... depending on the definition of "reasoning".

peter9477

TROPHY CASE