# Language Reference ## Grammar ``` Root = many(TopLevelItem) "EOF" TopLevelItem = ErrorValueDecl | Block | TopLevelDecl TopLevelDecl = option(VisibleMod) (FnDef | ExternDecl | GlobalVarDecl | TypeDecl | UseDecl) TypeDecl = "type" Symbol "=" TypeExpr ";" ErrorValueDecl = "error" Symbol ";" GlobalVarDecl = VariableDeclaration ";" VariableDeclaration = option("inline") ("var" | "const") Symbol option(":" TypeExpr) "=" Expression StructMember = (StructField | FnDef | GlobalVarDecl) StructField = Symbol option(":" Expression) ",") UseDecl = "use" Expression ";" ExternDecl = "extern" (FnProto | VariableDeclaration) ";" FnProto = option("coldcc" | "nakedcc") "fn" option(Symbol) ParamDeclList option("->" TypeExpr) VisibleMod = "pub" | "export" FnDef = option("inline" | "extern") FnProto Block ParamDeclList = "(" list(ParamDecl, ",") ")" ParamDecl = option("noalias" | "inline") option(Symbol ":") TypeExpr | "..." Block = "{" list(option(Statement), ";") "}" Statement = Label | VariableDeclaration ";" | Defer ";" | NonBlockExpression ";" | BlockExpression Label = Symbol ":" Expression = BlockExpression | NonBlockExpression TypeExpr = PrefixOpExpression | "var" NonBlockExpression = ReturnExpression | AssignmentExpression AsmExpression = "asm" option("volatile") "(" String option(AsmOutput) ")" AsmOutput = ":" list(AsmOutputItem, ",") option(AsmInput) AsmInput = ":" list(AsmInputItem, ",") option(AsmClobbers) AsmOutputItem = "[" Symbol "]" String "(" (Symbol | "->" TypeExpr) ")" AsmInputItem = "[" Symbol "]" String "(" Expression ")" AsmClobbers= ":" list(String, ",") UnwrapExpression = BoolOrExpression (UnwrapMaybe | UnwrapError) | BoolOrExpression UnwrapMaybe = "??" Expression UnwrapError = "%%" option("|" Symbol "|") Expression AssignmentExpression = UnwrapExpression AssignmentOperator UnwrapExpression | UnwrapExpression AssignmentOperator = "=" | "*=" | "/=" | "%=" | "+=" | "-=" | "<<=" | ">>=" | "&=" | "^=" | "|=" | "&&=" | "||=" | "*%=" | "+%=" | "-%=" | "<<%=" BlockExpression = IfExpression | Block | WhileExpression | ForExpression | SwitchExpression SwitchExpression = option("inline") "switch" "(" Expression ")" "{" many(SwitchProng) "}" SwitchProng = (list(SwitchItem, ",") | "else") "=>" option("|" option("*") Symbol "|") Expression "," SwitchItem = Expression | (Expression "..." Expression) WhileExpression = option("inline") "while" "(" Expression option(";" Expression) ")" Expression ForExpression = option("inline") "for" "(" Expression ")" option("|" option("*") Symbol option("," Symbol) "|") Expression BoolOrExpression = BoolAndExpression "||" BoolOrExpression | BoolAndExpression ReturnExpression = option("%" | "?") "return" option(Expression) Defer = option("%" | "?") "defer" Expression IfExpression = IfVarExpression | IfBoolExpression IfBoolExpression = option("inline") "if" "(" Expression ")" Expression option(Else) IfVarExpression = option("inline") "if" "(" ("const" | "var") option("*") Symbol option(":" TypeExpr) "?=" Expression ")" Expression Option(Else) Else = "else" Expression BoolAndExpression = ComparisonExpression "&&" BoolAndExpression | ComparisonExpression ComparisonExpression = BinaryOrExpression ComparisonOperator BinaryOrExpression | BinaryOrExpression ComparisonOperator = "==" | "!=" | "<" | ">" | "<=" | ">=" BinaryOrExpression = BinaryXorExpression "|" BinaryOrExpression | BinaryXorExpression BinaryXorExpression = BinaryAndExpression "^" BinaryXorExpression | BinaryAndExpression BinaryAndExpression = BitShiftExpression "&" BinaryAndExpression | BitShiftExpression BitShiftExpression = AdditionExpression BitShiftOperator BitShiftExpression | AdditionExpression BitShiftOperator = "<<" | ">>" | "<<%" AdditionExpression = MultiplyExpression AdditionOperator AdditionExpression | MultiplyExpression AdditionOperator = "+" | "-" | "++" | "+%" | "-%" MultiplyExpression = CurlySuffixExpression MultiplyOperator MultiplyExpression | CurlySuffixExpression CurlySuffixExpression = TypeExpr option(ContainerInitExpression) MultiplyOperator = "*" | "/" | "%" | "**" | "*%" PrefixOpExpression = PrefixOp PrefixOpExpression | SuffixOpExpression SuffixOpExpression = option("inline") PrimaryExpression option(FnCallExpression | ArrayAccessExpression | FieldAccessExpression | SliceExpression) FieldAccessExpression = "." Symbol FnCallExpression = "(" list(Expression, ",") ")" ArrayAccessExpression = "[" Expression "]" SliceExpression = "[" Expression "..." option(Expression) "]" option("const") ContainerInitExpression = "{" ContainerInitBody "}" ContainerInitBody = list(StructLiteralField, ",") | list(Expression, ",") StructLiteralField = "." Symbol "=" Expression PrefixOp = "!" | "-" | "~" | "*" | ("&" option("const")) | "?" | "%" | "%%" | "??" | "-%" PrimaryExpression = Number | String | CharLiteral | KeywordLiteral | GroupedExpression | GotoExpression | BlockExpression | Symbol | ("@" Symbol FnCallExpression) | ArrayType | (option("extern") FnProto) | AsmExpression | ("error" "." Symbol) | ContainerDecl ArrayType = "[" option(Expression) "]" option("const") TypeExpr GotoExpression = option("inline") "goto" Symbol GroupedExpression = "(" Expression ")" KeywordLiteral = "true" | "false" | "null" | "break" | "continue" | "undefined" | "zeroes" | "error" | "type" | "this" ContainerDecl = option("extern") ("struct" | "enum" | "union") "{" many(StructMember) "}" ``` ## Operator Precedence ``` x() x[] x.y !x -x ~x *x &x ?x %x %%x x{} * / % + - ++ << >> & ^ | == != < > <= >= && || ?? %% = *= /= %= += -= <<= >>= &= ^= |= &&= ||= ``` ## Types ### Numeric Types ``` Type name C equivalent Description i8 int8_t signed 8-bit integer u8 uint8_t unsigned 8-bit integer i16 int16_t signed 16-bit integer u16 uint16_t unsigned 16-bit integer i32 int32_t signed 32-bit integer u32 uint32_t unsigned 32-bit integer i64 int64_t signed 64-bit integer u64 uint64_t unsigned 64-bit integer isize intptr_t signed pointer sized integer usize uintptr_t unsigned pointer sized integer c_short short for ABI compatibility with C c_ushort unsigned short for ABI compatibility with C c_int int for ABI compatibility with C c_uint unsigned int for ABI compatibility with C c_long long for ABI compatibility with C c_ulong unsigned long for ABI compatibility with C c_longlong long long for ABI compatibility with C c_ulonglong unsigned long long for ABI compatibility with C c_long_double long double for ABI compatibility with C c_void void for ABI compatibility with C f32 float 32-bit floating point f64 double 64-bit floating point ``` ### Boolean Type The boolean type has the name `bool` and represents either true or false. ### Function Type TODO ### Fixed-Size Array Type Example: The string `"aoeu"` has type `[4]u8`. The size is known at compile time and is part of the type. ### Slice Type A slice can be obtained with the slicing syntax: `array[start...end]` Example: `"aoeu"[0...2]` has type `[]u8`. ### Struct Type TODO ### Enum Type TODO ### Maybe Type TODO ### Pure Error Type TODO ### Error Union Type TODO ### Pointer Type TODO ### Unreachable Type The unreachable type has the name `unreachable`. TODO explanation ### Void Type The void type has the name `void`. void types are zero bits and are omitted from codegen. ## Expressions ### Literals #### Character and String Literals ``` Literal Example Characters Escapes Null Term Type Byte 'H' All ASCII Byte No u8 UTF-8 Bytes "hello" All Unicode Byte & Unicode No [5]u8 UTF-8 C string c"hello" All Unicode Byte & Unicode Yes &const u8 ``` ### Escapes Escape | Name ----------|------------------------------------------------------------------- \n | Newline \r | Carriage Return \t | Tab \\ | Backslash \' | Single Quote \" | Double Quote \xNN | hexadecimal 8-bit character code (2 digits) \uNNNN | hexadecimal 16-bit Unicode character code UTF-8 encoded (4 digits) \UNNNNNN | hexadecimal 24-bit Unicode character code UTF-8 encoded (6 digits) Note that the maximum valid Unicode point is 0x10ffff. ##### Multiline String Literals Multiline string literals have no escapes and can span across multiple lines. To start a multiline string literal, use the `\\` token. Just like a comment, the string literal goes until the end of the line. The end of the line is not included in the string literal. However, if the next line begins with `\\` then a newline is appended and the string literal continues. Example: ```zig const hello_world_in_c = \\#include \\ \\int main(int argc, char **argv) { \\ printf("hello world\n"); \\ return 0; \\} ; ``` For a multiline C string literal, prepend `c` to each `\\`. Example: ```zig const c_string_literal = c\\#include c\\ c\\int main(int argc, char **argv) { c\\ printf("hello world\n"); c\\ return 0; c\\} ; ``` In this example the variable `c_string_literal` has type `&const char` and has a terminating null byte. #### Number Literals Number literals | Example | Exponentiation --------------------|-------------|-------------- Decimal integer | 98222 | N/A Hex integer | 0xff | N/A Octal integer | 0o77 | N/A Binary integer | 0b11110000 | N/A Floating point | 123.0E+77 | Optional Hex floating point | 0x103.70p-5 | Optional ### Identifiers TODO ### Declarations Declarations have type `void`. #### Function Declarations TODO #### Variable Declarations TODO #### Struct Declarations TODO #### Enum Declarations TODO ## Built-in Functions Built-in functions are prefixed with `@`. Remember that the `inline` keyword on a parameter means that the parameter must be known at compile time. ### @alloca(inline T: type, count: usize) -> []T Allocates memory in the stack frame of the caller. This temporary space is automatically freed when the function that called alloca returns to its caller, just like other stack variables. When using this function to allocate memory, you should know the upper bound of `count`. Consider putting a constant array on the stack with the upper bound instead of using alloca. If you do use alloca it is to save a few bytes off the memory size given that you didn't actually hit your upper bound. The allocated memory contents are undefined. ### @typeof(expression) -> type This function returns a compile-time constant, which is the type of the expression passed as an argument. The expression is *not evaluated*. ### @sizeof(inline T: type) -> (number literal) This function returns the number of bytes it takes to store T in memory. The result is a target-specific compile time constant. ### @alignof(inline T: type) -> (number literal) This function returns the number of bytes that this type should be aligned to for the current target. The result is a target-specific compile time constant. ### Overflow Arithmetic These functions take an integer type, two variables of the specified type, and a pointer to memory of the specified type where the result is stored. The functions return a boolean value: true if overflow or underflow occurred, false otherwise. ``` Function Operation @addWithOverflow(inline T: type, a: T, b: T, result: &T) -> bool *x = a + b @subWithOverflow(inline T: type, a: T, b: T, result: &T) -> bool *x = a - b @mulWithOverflow(inline T: type, a: T, b: T, result: &T) -> bool *x = a * b @shlWithOverflow(inline T: type, a: T, b: T, result: &T) -> bool *x = a << b ``` ### @memset(dest: &u8, c: u8, byte_count: usize) This function sets a region of memory to `c`. `dest` is a pointer. This function is a low level intrinsic with no safety mechanisms. Most higher level code will not use this function, instead using something like this: ```zig for (destSlice) |*b| *b = c; ``` The optimizer is intelligent enough to turn the above snippet into a memset. ### @memcpy(noalias dest: &u8, noalias source: &const u8, byte_count: usize) This function copies bytes from one region of memory to another. `dest` and `source` are both pointers and must not overlap. This function is a low level intrinsic with no safety mechanisms. Most higher level code will not use this function, instead using something like this: ```zig const mem = @import("std").mem; mem.copy(destSlice, sourceSlice); ``` The optimizer is intelligent enough to turn the above snippet into a memcpy. ### @breakpoint() This function inserts a platform-specific debug trap instruction which causes debuggers to break there. This function is only valid within function scope. ### @returnAddress() This function returns a pointer to the return address of the current stack frame. The implications of this are target specific and not consistent across all platforms. This function is only valid within function scope. ### @frameAddress() This function returns the base pointer of the current stack frame. The implications of this are target specific and not consistent across all platforms. The frame address may not be available in release mode due to aggressive optimizations. This function is only valid within function scope. ### @maxValue(inline T: type) -> (number literal) This function returns the maximum integer value of the integer type T. The result is a compile time constant. For some types such as `c_long`, the result is marked as depending on a compile variable. ### @minValue(inline T: type) -> (number literal) This function returns the minimum integer value of the integer type T. The result is a compile time constant. For some types such as `c_long`, the result is marked as depending on a compile variable. ### @memberCount(inline T: type) -> (number literal) This function returns the number of enum values in an enum type. The result is a compile time constant. ### @import(inline path: []u8) -> (namespace) This function finds a zig file corresponding to `path` and imports all the public top level declarations into the resulting namespace. `path` can be a relative or absolute path, or it can be the name of a package, such as "std". This function is only valid at top level scope. ### @cImport(expression) -> (namespace) This function parses C code and imports the functions, types, variables, and compatible macro definitions into the result namespace. `expression` is interpreted at compile time. The builtin functions `@c_include`, `@c_define`, and `@c_undef` work within this expression, appending to a temporary buffer which is then parsed as C code. This function is only valid at top level scope. ### @cInclude(inline path: []u8) This function can only occur inside `@c_import`. This appends `#include <$path>\n` to the `c_import` temporary buffer. ### @cDefine(inline name: []u8, value) This function can only occur inside `@c_import`. This appends `#define $name $value` to the `c_import` temporary buffer. ### @cUndef(inline name: []u8) This function can only occur inside `@c_import`. This appends `#undef $name` to the `c_import` temporary buffer. ### @compileVar(inline name: []u8) -> (varying type) This function returns a compile-time variable. There are built in compile variables: * "is_big_endian" `bool` - either `true` for big endian or `false` for little endian. * "is_release" `bool`- either `true` for release mode builds or `false` for debug mode builds. * "is_test" `bool`- either `true` for test builds or `false` otherwise. * "os" `@OS` - use `zig targets` to see what enum values are possible here. * "arch" `@Arch` - use `zig targets` to see what enum values are possible here. * "environ" `@Environ` - use `zig targets` to see what enum values are possible here. Build scripts can set additional compile variables of any name and type. The result of this function is a compile time constant that is marked as depending on a compile variable. ### @staticEval(expression) -> @typeOf(expression) This function wraps an expression and generates a compile error if the expression is not known at compile time. The result of the function is the result of the expression. ### @ctz(x: T) -> T This function counts the number of trailing zeroes in x which is an integer type T. ### @clz(x: T) -> T This function counts the number of leading zeroes in x which is an integer type T. ### @errorName(err: error) -> []u8 This function returns the string representation of an error. If an error declaration is: ```zig error OutOfMem; ``` Then the string representation is "OutOfMem". If there are no calls to `@err_name` in an entire application, then no error name table will be generated. ### @embedFile(inline path: []u8) -> [X]u8 This function returns a compile time constant fixed-size array with length equal to the byte count of the file given by `path`. The contents of the array are the contents of the file. ### @cmpxchg(ptr: &T, cmp: T, new: T, success_order: MemoryOrder, fail_order: MemoryOrder) -> bool This function performs an atomic compare exchange operation. ### @fence(order: MemoryOrder) The `fence` function is used to introduce happens-before edges between operations. ### @divExact(a: T, b: T) -> T This function performs integer division `a / b` and returns the result. The caller guarantees that this operation will have no remainder. In debug mode, a remainder causes a panic. In release mode, a remainder is undefined behavior. ### @truncate(inline T: type, integer) -> T This function truncates bits from an integer type, resulting in a smaller integer type. The following produces a crash in debug mode and undefined behavior in release mode: ```zig const a: u16 = 0xabcd; const b: u8 = u8(a); ``` However this is well defined and working code: ```zig const a: u16 = 0xabcd; const b: u8 = @truncate(u8, a); // b is now 0xcd ``` ### @compileError(inline msg: []u8) This function, when semantically analyzed, causes a compile error with the message `msg`. There are several ways that code avoids being semantically checked, such as using `if` or `switch` with compile time constants, and inline functions. ### @intType(inline is_signed: bool, inline bit_count: u8) -> type This function returns an integer type with the given signness and bit count. ### @setFnTest(func) Makes the target function a test function.