Runtime

Contents

How a Program becomes Zig, in parts. Start with the introduction, then follow each part into the rendered output and the runtime it links against.

• Introduction — what the Zig target is, and how to read the rest of this section.
• Capabilities — which high-level features are possible, built in or through a library.
• Example — a full program using every keyword, and the Zig it renders to.
• Naming considerations — how Program's dotted names are carried into Zig.
• Entry point — starting a program from main with its drivers.
• Drivers — the native drivers that provide the interface, console and network.
• Runtime — the Reactive and Context machinery the rendered code links against.
• Native modules — the hand-written Zig behind NATIVE functions.
• Keywords — how each of Program's keywords renders to Zig.
• Project setup — the files and commands to build and run the rendered program.
• Reserved words — the words Zig keeps for itself, and how a colliding name is escaped.

Reactive and Context, in Zig

The runtime is the same three parts as every target — the Reactive graph, the Context channels, and the native drivers — ported to Zig. State is Reactive.state(T, …) and derived values come from Reactive.calculate(…), with generics handled at comptime. The cycle (open channels, run, drain, dispatch, wait) is identical; read the JavaScript runtime for the full walkthrough.