The author explores the relationship between the Zig programming language and Ethereum cryptocurrency, using Zig to optimize the performance of an Ethereum Virtual Machine interpreter. Initially, benchmarking revealed a surprising performance drop after seemingly minor changes, which was ultimately attributed to misunderstandings about bash pipelines. By utilizing buffered input reads and a fixed buffer allocator, the author was able to significantly enhance their implementation’s performance, outperforming the official Go version. The experience highlighted the importance of early and frequent benchmarking, as well as the need for a deep understanding of performance metrics. The journey showcases the power of optimizing and fine-tuning code for maximum efficiency.
https://mtlynch.io/zig-extraneous-build/