Zig as a Multi-OS Build System (with Loris Cro)

The ZigLang team have put an astonishing amount of effort into making Zig work an effective tool for compiling C across different architectures. Work that benefits the Zig language, but also has a chance to benefit languages like Python and Rust. Or indeed, any language that uses native C libraries somewhere in its stack.

So this week we’re joined by Loris Cro of the Zig team to dive into how you make a reliable, cross-platform toolchain that can compile C anywhere it finds it. And in doing so, 

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0:00 Intro
3:17 How Zig's Solving A Python Problem
15:53 Bundling the Whole C Toolchain
25:20 Making Linking Portable
36:23 Cross Platform Compilation & CI
48:08 The Language is the Build Tool
1:09:20 Would You Use Zig Just As A Build Language?
1:13:16 A Static Site Generator in Zig
1:17:38 Outro

[rangargorgen]

This is has quickly turned into my favorite tech podcast. The only "issue" I have is that after every episode I feel like switching programming language 😋

[stretch]

Kris, your channels are the opposite of tech-influencer memes. I always come away having learned something and with other things to read more about.

[purewantfun]

Recently got into zig after seeing so much of it online, did the whole ray tracing in a weekend thing and I'm loving every bit of it.

[alphabitserial]

Loris's static site generator, Zine, is awesome! I would love to see him back on to talk about that. It even ships with an HTML LSP that actually reports errors - the VSCode extension is written in zig and built to WASM!

[TheFreshMakerHD]

This came out at the perfect time. I am trying to compile an open source game project written in C and I've felt like I've been banging my head against a wall lol

[MrHopp]

Can’t get enough Zig! Thanks for the new episode 🎉

[tnytim]

Not another Zig episode...every time I hear about Zig, it makes me wanna give it a go. But I know I can't control myself, and I won't be able to sleep because I'll be wanting to spend my whole time learning, so I know I need to wait till I'm off work, and don't have other plans. Though on a more serious note, I did love listening to Loris last time, can't wait to listen this time too.

[iatheman]

Another great interview! It was so valuable to learn how Zig prioritizes building in a sane way on the world of static/compiled programs. I'm dealing with Python + C dependency issues as I was listening to this... gotta give Zig another try.

[jonathanbush]

Very cool. Zig seems to keep expanding and doing more and more fundamental things. Who knows what it might do some day?

[JaconSamsta]

Great introduction. Dealing with a C/C++ library will never not seem daunting. Even being packaged by my distro won't guarantee that it will play nicely with my current project and the build system I'm using there. So it's usually down to building it myself and lord help me if I need to make any modifications there!
Zig is making bold statements about being the last build system you'll ever need, so It's definitely on my radar in that regard. Can't wait to dive into this episode and see what Zig has to offer and where it's headed!

[jwr]

I LOVE the idea of Zig, comptime, and its C compilation superpowers... But I've bounced off it HARD twice as a Windows user because it requires workarounds on Windows for things that are fine on Linux and Mac, and that's at the learning stage -- examples in tutorials and documentation. I'm SO on-board when it's resolved those things.

[michaelutech]

I really enjoy this channel. The content is very informative. It has the relaxed feel of sitting on a couch with a cup of tee. You've got great guests. There is a lot of competency going around. Thank you for all the work you put into this!

[nathanle]

Loris is absolutely right about python democratizing access to C libraries.

[matthughes]

great discussion, really relevant for not just zig but the process of building and shipping native projects in general

[mattiapalmese]

I'm not a Zig developer in any way, but I like C and I write a lot of code in it.
I think that the problem stated is not about C and the pain of building C, but mostly about the complexity that operating systems provide, which often limits one's ability to compile/build projects. The fact that some operating systems doesn't ship with a C compiler seems so stupid to me.
However, I'm not stating that C is perfect, and I think that Zig could be a great successor, maybe even better than Rust.

[the_graytest]

Many people would agree that the Zig proyect is aiming to achieve great things in system's development, perhaps the most visionary. And many more would agree that 'echo' is a better for the Developer Voices entrance, the most humanly resounding software channel on Earth. Just sayin :)

[dominix]

I can not "like" twice, but I hear this episode many time, so thanks again for making it

[bepkororoti]

Even if nobody uses zig, replacing all the compiling mess with a build.zig file is soooo nice

[jatlineur]

remember bun build using zig, that's why i love zig.

[vincentl]

Getting zig as a pip package is so freaking smart and is a really good idea to get more zig into people's environments while using zig's strongsuits and providing incredible value.