Hi there! I'm Arya. I like programming. This is my website.
Within programming, I have three big interests:
- Performance: Our CPUs are amazingly good at crunching numbers, but we just don't design software to take full advantage of them. I find a lot of joy in optimising things to the point of perfection — the goal is to one day build a whole compiler this way.
- Interfaces: APIs that don't model problems properly always lead to bigger problems for users and implementers. Although I still write C code, I really like the Rust programming language — its type system lets me write expressive interfaces that don't hinder flexibility or performance.
- Security: I believe everybody has a right to privacy, and I believe that right extends into their use of the Internet. I'm interested in cryptography and dabble in designing simple and secure network protocols to replace TLS and IRC.
Outside of programming, I read a bit. The Lord of the Rings is by far my favorite piece of literature. I love the depth of Tolkien's universe and I'd love to create something like it myself. I also enjoyed the blend of fantasy and sci-fi in Dune, but it's missing Tolkien's mastery of words.
I occasionally write about myself, my projects, or crazy ideas I have. My blog provides an index of these posts. Shorter but more frequent posts are on my Mastodon account. You might also be looking for my SourceHut profile or my GitHub profile.
If you wish to contact me in the context of a specific project or topic, look for an e-mail address (e.g. in Git commit history) ending with @bal-e.org. Otherwise, reach out to me at my public address, but beware I get spam there too. Encrypt your communication to my PGP key if you can.