Zig (programming language): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:03, 20 January 2025

Revision as of 20:39, 29 January 2025

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A major goal of the language is to improve on the [[C (programming language)|C language]],<ref name="roadtozig1.0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ziglang.org/#Zig-competes-with-C-instead-of-depending-on-it|title=The Zig Programming Language|website=Ziglang.org|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref> (also taking inspiration from [[Rust (programming language)|Rust]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zig programming language |url=https://sudonull.com/post/3683-Zig-programming-language |access-date=2020-02-11 |website=SudoNull |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Yegulalp|2016}}), with the intent of being even smaller and simpler to program in, while offering more functionality.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-31 |title=Zig has all the elegant simplicity of C, minus all the ways to shoot yourself in the foot |url=https://jaxenter.com/zig-language-kelley-interview-138517.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101231710/https://jaxenter.com/zig-language-kelley-interview-138517.html |archive-date=2017-11-01 |access-date=2020-02-11 |website=JAXenter |language=en-US}}</ref> The improvements in language simplicity relate to flow control, [[Function (computer programming)|function calls]], [[Library (computing)|library]] imports, [[Declaration (computer programming)|variable declaration]] and [[Unicode]] support. Further, the language makes no use of [[Macro (computer science)|macros]] or [[preprocessor]] instructions. Features adopted from modern languages include the addition of [[compile time]] [[generic programming]] [[data type]]s, allowing functions to work on a variety of data, along with a small set of new [[compiler]] directives to allow access to the information about those types using [[reflective programming]] (reflection).<ref name=zig>{{Cite web|url=https://ziglang.org/|title=The Zig Programming Language|website=Ziglang.org|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref> Like C, Zig omits [[Garbage collection (computer science)|garbage collection]], and has [[manual memory management]].<ref name=zig /> To help eliminate the potential errors that arise in such systems, it includes [[option type]]s, a simple [[Syntax (programming languages)|syntax]] for using them, and a [[unit testing]] framework built into the language. Zig has many features for [[Low-level programming language|low-level programming]], notably packed structs (structs without padding between fields), arbitrary-width integers<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/24/llvm_project_adds_support_for/ |title=Keen to go _ExtInt? LLVM Clang compiler adds support for custom width integers |last1=Anderson |first1=Tim |date=2020-04-24 |website=www.theregister.co.uk |language=en |access-date=2024-12-30}}</ref> and multiple pointer types.<ref name="zigdocumentation">{{Cite web|url=https://ziglang.org/documentation/master/|title=Documentation|website=Ziglang.org|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref>

The main drawback of the system is that, although Zig has a growing community, as of 20242025, it remains a new language with areas for improvement in maturity, ecosystem and tooling.<ref name="logrocket">{{cite web |last=Chigozie |first=Oduah |title=Comparing Rust vs. Zig: Performance, Safety, and More |url=https://blog.logrocket.com/comparing-rust-vs-zig-performance-safety-more/ |website=LogRocket Blog |date=2024-06-04 |access-date=2024-07-16}}</ref> Also the learning curve for Zig can be steep, especially for those unfamiliar with low-level programming concepts.<ref name="logrocket"/> The availability of learning resources is limited for complex use cases, though this is gradually improving as interest and adoption increase.<ref name="logrocket"/> Other challenges mentioned by the reviewers are interoperability with other languages (extra effort to manage data marshaling and communication is required), as well as manual memory deallocation (disregarding proper memory management results directly in memory leaks).<ref name="logrocket"/>

The development is funded by the Zig Software Foundation (ZSF), a non-profit corporation with Andrew Kelley as president, which accepts donations and hires multiple full-time employees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jakub Konka on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/kubkon/status/1377146321136537602 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410102319/https://twitter.com/kubkon/status/1377146321136537602 |archive-date=2022-04-10 |access-date=2021-05-28 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Announcing the Zig Software Foundation|url=https://ziglang.org/news/announcing-zig-software-foundation/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Ziglang.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sponsor ZSF|url=https://ziglang.org/zsf/|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Ziglang.org}}</ref> Zig has very active contributor community, and is still in its early stages of development.<ref name="TNW1">{{cite web |url = https://thenextweb.com/news/zig-highest-paying-programming-language |title = Why Zig has become the highest-paying programming language |last =Kavanagh |first =Amanda |date = June 25, 2024 |website=The Next Web |accessdate=Dec 15, 2024}}</ref> Despite this, a [[Stack Overflow]] survey in 2024 found that Zig software developers earn salaries of $103,000 USD per year on average, making it one of the best-paying programming languages.<ref name="VB1">{{cite web |url = https://venturebeat.com/programming-development/3-programming-languages-you-need-to-know-about/ |title = 3 programming languages you need to know about |last = McBride |first = Aoibhinn |date = July 16, 2024 |website=[[VentureBeat]] |accessdate = Dec 15, 2024}}</ref> However, only 0.83% reported they were proficient in Zig.<ref name="TNW1" />