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⚙️Backend Dev

Backend engineering, APIs, and databases

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Test yourself: Top 30 Backend Dev interview questions →Multiple choice, with the correct answer and why it is correct on every question. Free, no sign-in.

Everything in Backend Dev, page 17

advanced2 min read

Building a safe Rust wrapper over an unsafe C API

Hide extern calls behind a safe module, own the resource in a struct with Drop calling the C free, return Result mapping C error codes, use NewType/NonNull and PhantomData.

intermediate2 min read

Passing Go/Rust callbacks to a C library

C needs a plain function pointer; in Go use //export with cgo, in Rust an extern "C" fn; carry state via a void* user-data param.

advanced1 min read

Zero-copy string to []byte conversion via unsafe in Go

Use unsafe.StringData/Slice (or reflect headers) to alias the string's bytes without copying; assumes shared backing array; risk is mutating an immutable string.

intermediate1 min read

Rust references vs raw pointers

References are borrow-checked, always valid, aliasing-controlled, non-null; raw pointers carry no guarantees, can be null, dangling, or aliased, and dereferencing needs unsafe.

advanced1 min read

Profiling a Rust hot loop with perf

Build with debuginfo, perf record cycles or cache-misses, perf report then perf annotate to map counters to source/asm; flamegraph for hotspots.

advanced1 min read

Diagnosing Go memory leaks with pprof heap profiles

Expose net/http/pprof, grab /debug/pprof/heap, analyze inuse_space for live retention versus alloc_space for cumulative allocation; rising inuse over time points to a leak.

advanced1 min read

Cancellation: Go context vs Rust sync stdlib

Go's context.Context threads a Done channel and deadline through call chains; Rust std has no built-in cancellation, so you wire an AtomicBool or channel and check it.

advanced1 min read

Network read/write timeouts in Go vs Rust stdlib

Go uses SetReadDeadline/SetWriteDeadline as absolute times; Rust uses set_read_timeout/set_write_timeout as durations on TcpStream.

intermediate1 min read

Concurrent TCP server: Go goroutines vs Rust std::thread

Both accept in a loop; Go spawns a goroutine per connection (go handle(conn)); Rust spawns an OS thread (thread::spawn moving the stream).

advanced1 min read

Purpose and mechanism of a Rust build.rs script

Build.rs compiles and runs before the crate, emitting cargo: directives via stdout to set link flags, env vars, and rerun triggers; used to compile C, generate code, or probe the system.

intermediate1 min read

Rust async/await vs Go goroutines

Go schedules goroutines on a built-in runtime transparently; Rust futures are inert until polled by an external runtime like Tokio, and async colors functions.

intermediate1 min read

Sharing mutable state: Go mutex vs Rust Arc Mutex

Go uses sync.Mutex by convention; Rust wraps data in Arc<Mutex<T>> so locking is mandatory, enforced by Send/Sync and the borrow checker.

advanced1 min read

Associated types vs generic type parameters in traits

Associated types fix one type per implementer; generics allow many impls; Iterator::Item is the canonical example.

intermediate1 min read

Value versus pointer receivers and interface satisfaction

Value-receiver methods belong to both T and *T, but pointer-receiver methods belong only to *T, so a value of T may not satisfy an interface.

advanced1 min read

When to panic in Go versus Rust

Both reserve panic for unrecoverable bugs and use values, Result or error, for expected failures; Rust's type system pushes more cases to Result.

intermediate2 min read

Rust borrow rules versus Go race prevention

Rust's aliasing-XOR-mutability rule plus Send and Sync make races a compile error; Go prevents them at runtime via channels, mutexes and the race detector.

advanced1 min read

Rust workspace versus single crate for plugins

A workspace gives incremental compilation, enforced API boundaries via a shared api crate, and per-plugin deps; a single crate is simpler but recompiles wholesale and blurs boundaries.

intermediate1 min read

Rust binary and library crates in one project

A binary crate has main and produces an executable; a library crate has lib.rs and is reusable; put logic in the lib and a thin main that calls it.

easy1 min read

Refactoring under Go simplicity versus Rust correctness

Rust's type system catches broken invariants at compile time so refactors are guided; Go's explicitness keeps code readable but shifts safety to tests and discipline.

advanced1 min read

I/O Stream Abstractions

I/O stream abstractions like Go's io.Reader and io.Writer model data as a flow of bytes behind a tiny interface, so files, sockets, buffers and encoders compose interchangeably without each one knowing the others' concrete type.

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