With Scala Native's new unsafe API, Scala programmers have access to just as much power as C programmers have had for 50 years. But what does systems programming even look like in a modern language, with Scala's immensely expressive type system? We'll find out as we explore the fundamental concepts of systems programming: pointers, structs, arrays, and strings. As we proceed, we'll see how Scala can provide safer and more ergonomic patterns than C, and compare Scala Native's capabilities to languages like Rust and OCaml. And finally, we'll look at the ways hardware is changing, and the role systems programming (and Scala) can play in defining the patterns and architectures of the future.
