[Setup] Zig Development Environment

// -----------------------------------------------
// zig run — compiles and runs a source file directly
// -----------------------------------------------

zig run filename.zig
// filename.zig : path to the Zig source file you want to run

// -----------------------------------------------
// zig build-exe — builds an executable binary
// -----------------------------------------------

zig build-exe filename.zig
// a native executable is generated in the same directory

// -----------------------------------------------
// minimal Zig program structure
// -----------------------------------------------

const std = @import("std");   // imports the standard library

pub fn main() !void {         // entry point. !void indicates the function may return an error
    // write to standard output
    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
    try stdout.print("text\n", .{});
}

hello.zig

// hello.zig — a Hello World sample in Zig
// demonstrates printing strings to standard output
// and the basic program structure

// import the standard library
// @import() is a built-in function executed at compile time
const std = @import("std");

// pub fn main() !void is the program entry point
// !void means "returns void on success, or an error value on failure"
pub fn main() !void {
    // get a Writer for standard output
    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();

    // define some string constants
    // const declares an immutable binding
    const name1 = "Alice";
    const name2 = "Bob";
    const name3 = "Carol";
    const name4 = "Dave";
    const name5 = "Eve";

    // try propagates an error to the caller if the function returns one
    // the second argument to print() is a tuple of format arguments (pass .{} for none)
    try stdout.print("=== Participant List ===\n", .{});
    try stdout.print("\n", .{});

    // use {} placeholders to embed values in the output
    try stdout.print("Name: {s}\n", .{name1});
    try stdout.print("Name: {s}\n", .{name2});
    try stdout.print("Name: {s}\n", .{name3});
    try stdout.print("Name: {s}\n", .{name4});
    try stdout.print("Name: {s}\n", .{name5});

    try stdout.print("\n", .{});

    // format output combining integers and strings
    // {d} displays an integer in decimal
    const scores = [_]u32{ 95, 87, 92, 78, 88 };
    const names = [_][]const u8{ name1, name2, name3, name4, name5 };

    try stdout.print("--- Score List ---\n", .{});

    // iterate over arrays with a for loop
    // use |value, index| to get both the value and index at the same time
    for (names, scores) |name, score| {
        try stdout.print("  {s}: {d}\n", .{ name, score });
    }

    try stdout.print("\nZig setup complete!\n", .{});
}

zig run hello.zig
=== Participant List ===

Name: Alice
Name: Bob
Name: Carol
Name: Dave
Name: Eve

--- Score List ---
  Alice: 95
  Bob: 87
  Carol: 92
  Dave: 78
  Eve: 88

Zig setup complete!

The most reliable way to install Zig is to download a prebuilt binary for your OS from the official site (ziglang.org) and add it to your PATH. On macOS and Linux, brew install zig is also a convenient option. After installation, run zig version to confirm the version and verify that your environment is set up correctly. You can run a program directly with zig run filename.zig. To produce a production binary, use zig build-exe. The entry point is defined as pub fn main() !void, and you write to standard output using the print() method on a Writer obtained from std.io.getStdOut().writer(). The try keyword propagates errors to the caller and is the foundation of error handling in Zig. For more on basic syntax, see Variables and Constants. For more on error handling, see Error Handling.