In the world of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), efficiency, performance, and reliability are paramount. Rust has gained significant popularity within the FOSS community for its ability to deliver on these fronts. Among Rust's many strengths, its ecosystem for parsers and compilers stands out, and at the heart of this ecosystem lies the Nom parser combinator library.

Join me in this 20-minute talk at the IndiaFOSS 3.0 as we explore the exciting world of parsing and compiling with Rust and Nom. We will dive into the fundamentals of parser combinators, discover how Nom simplifies the parsing process, and learn how to leverage these tools to supercharge your FOSS projects. Whether you're a seasoned Rustacean or new to the language, this talk will provide valuable insights and practical tips for using Nom to handle complex data formats and build compilers efficiently.

Talk Outline:

1. Introduction to Rust and FOSS (5 minutes)
2. Brief overview of Rust and its significance in FOSS projects.
3. Why parsing and compiling are critical aspects of FOSS development.
4. Parsing Essentials (5 minutes)
5. Explaining the basics of parsing and its importance in software development.
6. Introduction to parser combinators and their role in Rust.
7. Meet Nom: The Rust Parser Combinator Library (5 minutes)
8. An in-depth look at the Nom library and its features.
9. How Nom simplifies the parsing process and promotes code clarity.
10. Practical Application (5 minutes)
11. A hands-on demonstration of using Nom to parse real-world data formats.
12. Showcase FOSS projects that benefit from Nom's parsing capabilities.
13. Walkthrough of Amazon Ion's Rust repository that uses Nom for parsing
14. Building Compilers with Nom (5 minutes)
15. How to extend Nom's capabilities to build simple compilers.
16. Overview of FOSS projects that have successfully used Rust and Nom for compilation tasks.
17. Best Practices and Tips (3 minutes)
18. Tips and best practices for using Rust and Nom effectively in FOSS projects.
19. Resources for further learning and community support.
20. Q&A Session (2 minutes)
21. An opportunity for the audience to ask questions and seek clarifications.

By the end of this talk, attendees will have a solid understanding of how Rust and the Nom library can be harnessed to simplify parsing and enable the creation of efficient compilers for FOSS projects. Whether you're interested in enhancing the performance of your existing FOSS software or embarking on a new project, this talk will equip you with the knowledge and tools to achieve your goals effectively.

Join me in exploring the power of Rust and Nom in the FOSS world, and let's empower the FOSS community with more efficient and reliable software development practices.