2022-01-04 00:45:09 +00:00
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2015-08-06 01:44:05 +01:00
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2019-12-30 23:16:40 +00:00
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A general-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining
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**robust**, **optimal**, and **reusable** software.
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2015-08-06 01:44:05 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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https://ziglang.org/
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2016-02-10 05:31:49 +00:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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## Documentation
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If you are looking at this README file in a source tree, please refer to the
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**Release Notes**, **Language Reference**, or **Standard Library
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Documentation** corresponding to the version of Zig that you are using by
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following the appropriate link on the
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[download page](https://ziglang.org/download).
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2024-08-04 02:28:58 +01:00
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Otherwise, you're looking at a release of Zig, so you can find the language
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reference at `doc/langref.html`, and the standard library documentation by
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running `zig std`, which will open a browser tab.
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2016-11-24 07:44:03 +00:00
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2020-12-08 00:50:14 +00:00
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## Installation
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2015-12-07 04:55:28 +00:00
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2020-12-08 00:50:14 +00:00
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* [download a pre-built binary](https://ziglang.org/download/)
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* [install from a package manager](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/wiki/Install-Zig-from-a-Package-Manager)
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* [bootstrap zig for any target](https://github.com/ziglang/zig-bootstrap)
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delete all stage1 c++ code not directly related to compiling stage2
Deleted 16,000+ lines of c++ code, including:
* an implementation of blake hashing
* the cache hash system
* compiler.cpp
* all the linking code, and everything having to do with building
glibc, musl, and mingw-w64
* much of the stage1 compiler internals got slimmed down since it
now assumes it is always outputting an object file.
More stuff:
* stage1 is now built with a different strategy: we have a tiny
zig0.cpp which is a slimmed down version of what stage1 main.cpp used
to be. Its only purpose is to build stage2 zig code into an object
file, which is then linked by the host build system (cmake) into
stage1. zig0.cpp uses the same C API that stage2 now has access to,
so that stage2 zig code can call into stage1 c++ code.
- stage1.h is
- stage2.h is
- stage1.zig is the main entry point for the Zig/C++
hybrid compiler. It has the functions exported from Zig, called
in C++, and bindings for the functions exported from C++, called
from Zig.
* removed the memory profiling instrumentation from stage1.
Abandon ship!
* Re-added the sections to the README about how to build stage2 and
stage3.
* stage2 now knows as a comptime boolean whether it is being compiled
as part of stage1 or as stage2.
- TODO use this flag to call into stage1 for compiling zig code.
* introduce -fdll-export-fns and -fno-dll-export-fns and clarify
its relationship to link_mode (static/dynamic)
* implement depending on LLVM to detect native target cpu features when
LLVM extensions are enabled and zig lacks CPU feature detection for
that target architecture.
* C importing is broken, will need some stage2 support to function
again.
2020-09-18 02:29:38 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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A Zig installation is composed of two things:
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1. The Zig executable
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2. The lib/ directory
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At runtime, the executable searches up the file system for the lib/ directory,
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relative to itself:
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* lib/
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* lib/zig/
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* ../lib/
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* ../lib/zig/
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* (and so on)
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In other words, you can **unpack a release of Zig anywhere**, and then begin
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using it immediately. There is no need to install it globally, although this
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mechanism supports that use case too (i.e. `/usr/bin/zig` and `/usr/lib/zig/`).
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## Building from Source
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Ensure you have the required dependencies:
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2024-05-13 13:40:13 +01:00
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* CMake >= 3.15
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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* System C/C++ Toolchain
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2024-09-20 07:00:14 +01:00
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* LLVM, Clang, LLD development libraries == 19.x
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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Then it is the standard CMake build process:
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```
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mkdir build
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cd build
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cmake ..
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make install
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```
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For more options, tips, and troubleshooting, please see the
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[Building Zig From Source](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/wiki/Building-Zig-From-Source)
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page on the wiki.
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2023-11-06 03:23:52 +00:00
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## Building from Source without LLVM
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In this case, the only system dependency is a C compiler.
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```
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cc -o bootstrap bootstrap.c
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./bootstrap
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```
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2023-11-13 21:30:21 +00:00
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This produces a `zig2` executable in the current working directory. This is a
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"stage2" build of the compiler,
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[without LLVM extensions](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/16270), and is
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therefore lacking these features:
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2023-11-06 20:18:04 +00:00
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- Release mode optimizations
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2024-08-22 22:06:01 +01:00
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- [aarch64 machine code backend](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/21172)
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- [@cImport](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/20630)
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- [zig translate-c](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/20875)
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- [Ability to compile assembly files](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/21169)
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- [Some ELF linking features](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/17749)
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- [Most COFF/PE linking features](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/17751)
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- [Some WebAssembly linking features](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/17750)
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- [Ability to create import libs from def files](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/17807)
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- [Ability to create static archives from object files](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/9828)
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2024-08-22 22:06:01 +01:00
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- Ability to compile C, C++, Objective-C, and Objective-C++ files
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2023-11-06 03:23:52 +00:00
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2023-11-13 21:30:21 +00:00
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However, a compiler built this way does provide a C backend, which may be
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useful for creating system packages of Zig projects using the system C
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2024-08-22 22:06:01 +01:00
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toolchain. **In this case, LLVM is not needed!**
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Furthermore, a compiler built this way provides an LLVM backend that produces
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bitcode files, which may be compiled into object files via a system Clang
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package. This can be used to produce system packages of Zig applications
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without the Zig package dependency on LLVM.
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2023-11-13 21:30:21 +00:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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## Contributing
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2023-11-06 20:18:04 +00:00
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[Donate monthly](https://ziglang.org/zsf/).
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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Zig is Free and Open Source Software. We welcome bug reports and patches from
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everyone. However, keep in mind that Zig governance is BDFN (Benevolent
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Dictator For Now) which means that Andrew Kelley has final say on the design
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and implementation of everything.
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One of the best ways you can contribute to Zig is to start using it for an
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open-source personal project.
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This leads to discovering bugs and helps flesh out use cases, which lead to
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further design iterations of Zig. Importantly, each issue found this way comes
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with real world motivations, making it straightforward to explain the reasoning
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behind proposals and feature requests.
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You will be taken much more seriously on the issue tracker if you have a
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personal project that uses Zig.
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The issue label
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[Contributor Friendly](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3A%22contributor+friendly%22)
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exists to help you find issues that are **limited in scope and/or knowledge of
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Zig internals.**
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2020-09-11 19:30:21 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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Please note that issues labeled
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[Proposal](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Aproposal)
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but do not also have the
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[Accepted](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Aaccepted)
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label are still under consideration, and efforts to implement such a proposal
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have a high risk of being wasted. If you are interested in a proposal which is
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still under consideration, please express your interest in the issue tracker,
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providing extra insights and considerations that others have not yet expressed.
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The most highly regarded argument in such a discussion is a real world use case.
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2020-09-11 19:30:21 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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For more tips, please see the
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[Contributing](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/wiki/Contributing) page on the
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wiki.
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2020-09-11 19:30:21 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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## Community
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2020-09-11 19:30:21 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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The Zig community is decentralized. Anyone is free to start and maintain their
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own space for Zig users to gather. There is no concept of "official" or
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"unofficial". Each gathering place has its own moderators and rules. Users are
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encouraged to be aware of the social structures of the spaces they inhabit, and
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work purposefully to facilitate spaces that align with their values.
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2020-10-22 03:55:35 +01:00
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2023-07-23 23:48:54 +01:00
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Please see the [Community](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/wiki/Community) wiki
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page for a public listing of social spaces.
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