Learn How to Build C/C++ Projects with Zig

Day 0 - Optional Workshops (Tue) • 09:30 • Duration: 6h

Introduction

Zig is not only a C/C++ cross-compiler, but also a full-fledged toolchain that can build all kinds of C/C++ projects. This is thanks to the fact that Zig bundles all the required tools (from target libcs to build tools like ar) and also thanks to the Zig build system which is capable of handling all kinds of C/C++ projects.

By adopting Zig as your compiler and build system you won’t need to depend anymore on make, cmake, etc. Additionally you will be able to add support for cross-compilation to your projects and, if desired, to leverage the Zig package manager for fetching dependencies.

While still a v0 project, Zig is already used as a build system by Uber (via hermetic_cc_toolchain (formerly bazel-zig-cc)) and by many to deploy Rust code on AWS Lambda (via cargo-zigbuild).

Description

In this workshop Andrew will teach you how to use the Zig build system to maintain and improve existing C/C++/Zig projects.

Every attendee will be asked to bring a C/C++ project that they wish to learn how to build with Zig. Throughtout the workshop Andrew will teach you how to move past any blocker that you encounter as you write a build.zig for your project of choice.

By the end of the workshop you will have learned how the Zig build system works, what it offers and will have had some hands-on exeperience with a real-world project.

Requirements

A computer capable of running Zig and the C/C++ project you want to learn how to build with Zig.

Instructors