Getting Started with Zig

Installation

First, let's install Zig on your system. Choose your platform:

macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install zig

Linux:

sudo snap install zig --classic

Hello World

Let's create your first Zig program:

const std = @import("std");

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

Code Breakdown:

const std = @import("std"); - Imports the standard library
pub fn main() - Declares the main function
std.debug.print() - Prints to standard output

Variables and Types

Variable Declaration

In Zig, variables are declared using var for mutable variables and const for constants:

const std = @import("std");

pub fn main() void {
    // Constants (immutable)
    const pi: f32 = 3.14159;
    
    // Variables (mutable)
    var count: i32 = 0;
    count += 1;
    
    // Type inference
    const message = "Hello";  // inferred as []const u8
    
    std.debug.print("Count: {}, Pi: {d:.2}\n", .{ count, pi });
}