Michael Dawson | Building native addons for Node.js (and more JavaScript engines) like it's 2023

Most of the code for applications running on Node.js are written in JavaScript. However, there is often the need to integrate existing components written in another language or to leverage native code for performance reasons. Enter native addons. They let you integrate existing components or code written in another language and use them just like they were written in JavaScript. The good news is that with Node-api and node-addon-api it’s now possible to do this with more than just C/C++ but also Rust, C#, Zig, and more. As a bonus, these add-ons will also now work with other JavaScript runtimes as well.
This talk will help you understand how to build a native addon by walking through code examples helping you understand which of the different options for building native addons are the best fit for your use case. So don't build add-ons like it's the last century come learn how it's done in 2023.
About the speaker:
Michael Dawson is an active contributor to the Node.js project and chair of the Node.js Technical Steering Committee(TSC). He contributes to a broad range of community efforts including platform support, building infrastructure, N-API, Release, as well as tools to help the community achieve quality with speed (ex: ci jobs, benchmarking, and code coverage reporting). As the Node.js lead for Red Hat and IBM, he works with Red Hat's and IBM's internal teams to plan and facilitate their contributions to Node.js and v8 within the Node and Google communities. Past experience includes building IBM's Java runtime, building and operating client-facing e-commerce applications, building PKI and symmetric-based crypto solutions as well as a number of varied consulting engagements. In his spare time, he uses Node.js to automate his home and life for fun.