Can Claude develop ASICs, embedded apps and device drivers in C++ or Rust?

To build smartphone apps and websites in Rust + RPoem without HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript, Node.js or REST APIs, it seems the yield is better if I give Claude the official URLs, GitHub and blog URLs of Rust, RPoem and Poem to read as needed, and have it regularly read and write files such as README, CLAUDE and PORTING while developing. What do you think?

This answer is based on reading the README, PORTING and CLAUDE files in the official RPoem GitHub repository.

RPoem is a Rust platform that makes REST APIs unnecessary through GraphQL COSMO, with compatible Poem and Tauri functionality built from scratch in Rust. Its admin UI uses neither TypeScript nor Node.js; it is built in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly.

RPoem is compatible with WunderGraph COSMO, whose purpose is to make REST unnecessary.

What RPoem actually is

• A GraphQL COSMO platform written in Rust.
• Both Poem (backend) and Tauri (frontend) are rebuilt from scratch as compatible functionality, without depending on those packages.
• REST can be made unnecessary. PORTING says "REST API not needed".
• The admin UI is built in Rust, compiled to WebAssembly, and is documented as "no TypeScript/Node.js".
• There is an Android folder (android/) and a Windows tray app (apps/desktop-tray).

1. Can ASICs, embedded software and device drivers be developed in C++ or Rust?

Yes, but the range of what can be done differs. The RPoem documents say nothing about embedded or driver development (RPoem is a platform for the web and servers), so the following describes Claude in general.

• Embedded and device drivers: Claude can help write, review and debug code in either C/C++ or Rust.
  • This covers embedded Rust (no_std, embedded-hal, RTIC, Embassy, etc.), Linux kernel modules and Windows drivers (WDK).
  • Hardware-dependent parts (register behavior, timing, interrupts) are easy to get wrong without datasheets or logs from the real device.
  • Flashing and running it on real hardware must ultimately be verified by a person.
• ASIC: the actual design is done in hardware description languages (Verilog, SystemVerilog, VHDL), or hardware languages such as Chisel.
  • Claude can write RTL, testbenches and verification scripts.
  • Logic synthesis, place and route and timing closure need EDA tools (many are paid).
  • Claude cannot run those tools for you, and any design sent to manufacturing requires expert review.
• Safety-critical fields (automotive, medical, aviation): do not use generated code as is; assume verification and review according to the relevant standards.

2. Is it better to give official URLs and have Claude read and write README, CLAUDE and PORTING files?

Yes, this approach improves the yield. RPoem itself says PORTING.md alone is enough to adopt it, and relies on that way of working.

• Provide official URLs and GitHub:
  • New, self-made components such as RPoem are likely unknown to Claude beforehand.
  • Having it read the relevant code and README reduces mistakes made by guessing.
  • Specify the version or commit when you have it read, to avoid outdated information.
  • The top of the RPoem README says dependencies were updated to the latest major versions on 2026-10-28, so premises may have changed recently.
• Have it read and write README, CLAUDE.md and PORTING.md:
  • When a conversation gets long, earlier content is lost to summarization, so keeping it in files is effective.
  • Writing down decisions, environment pitfalls, unfinished work and resume steps lets the next session resume quickly.
  • CLAUDE.md is a dated history of about 350 KB. Do not have it read everything; have it search for and read the latest entries and the relevant parts.
  • Stale entries become wrong premises, so have it update the files with every request.
• Other things that help:
  • Run tests and builds every time.
  • Do not skip checks on real devices and in the browser.
  • Split requests into small pieces.

3. Can smartphone apps and websites be built without HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript, Node.js or REST APIs?

• TypeScript and Node.js: the admin UI is built in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly, and the documents explicitly say they are not used.
• REST API: not used. RPoem is compatible with WunderGraph COSMO, which makes REST unnecessary, and the app's API is consolidated into GraphQL.
• HTML5 and CSS3: the foundation of browser display remains HTML and CSS, and WebAssembly is also loaded from HTML. "Not written by hand" is more accurate than "not used".
• Server side: it can be built with Rust + RPoem alone.
• Smartphones: the goal in docs/tauri-parity.md is "iOS/Android from a single codebase". An android/ folder exists, but from what I read I could not confirm that iOS is complete on real devices. Distribution must follow each OS's process (signing, stores).

Recommendation

Keep to the policy of making general-purpose logic a shared component in RPoem, and keep the README, CLAUDE and PORTING workflow as it is. Only the visual appearance is more stable written in HTML5 + CSS3 (the slides above are also made with HTML5 + CSS3).