Zig

Description #

Zig is a low-level systems programming language that emphasizes safety, performance, and readability. It serves as an alternative to C and aims to improve upon C’s shortcomings without a garbage collector or hidden control flow.

History #

Zig was created by Andrew Kelley in 2015 and has since attracted attention for its simplicity, cross-compilation capabilities, and modern take on systems programming. The language focuses on explicit control, manual memory management, and robust compile-time features. Zig is still under active development and has been adopted in niche systems-level projects, including game engines and operating system kernels.

Hello World Code #

const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() void {
    std.debug.print("Hello, World!\n", .{});
}

How to Run #

Option 1: Online

• Zig Playground
• Replit – Zig

Option 2: Local

1. Download the Zig compiler
2. Save the code in hello.zig
3. Compile and run:

zig run hello.zig

Key Concepts #

1. Low-level systems programming
2. Manual memory management
3. No hidden control flow or runtime overhead
4. Strong compile-time evaluation
5. Built-in safety features like optional types
6. Cross-compilation support by default
7. No nulls, exceptions, or macros
8. Deterministic resource management
9. Interoperable with C libraries
10. Useful for OS and embedded development

Try It Online #

• Zig Playground
• Replit – Zig

Fun Facts #

• Zig includes a built-in C compiler and linker.
• It allows you to debug memory and performance issues without external tools.
• Some developers use Zig to replace parts of their C/C++ projects incrementally.

Resources #

• Zig Official Site
• Zig Learn Guide
• Zig GitHub Repo
• Zig Documentation