Learning Zig: A project-based approach - Part 2 of 2

Coding Chats episode 32 - John Crickett and Loris Cro discuss the Zig programming language, its community, and various ways to learn and apply Zig. Loris emphasizes the importance of project-based learning, the unique features of Zig, and how it is being used in production by various companies. Loris also shares insights on how to get involved with the Zig community and contribute to its growth.

Chapters

00:00 Learning Zig Through Projects

04:58 Community and Learning Resources

06:49 Zig in Production: Real-World Applications

12:23 Understanding Zig's Unique Features

18:07 Getting Involved with the Zig Community

Loris's links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristoff-it/

Jonathan Marler's talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPWFLkHRIAQ

John's Links:

John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/

John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett

John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett

John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social

Check out John's software engineering related newsletters: Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.

Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Takeaways

Zig is a simple language that emphasizes debugging applications over language complexity.

Project-based learning is effective for mastering Zig.

Ziglings offers a hands-on approach for beginners to learn Zig.

Companies like Tiger Beetle and BUN are using Zig in production.

Zig's unique features include first-class support for no standard library.

Zig allows for cross-compilation, making it versatile for different architectures.

Community involvement is crucial for learning and contributing to Zig.

Zig promotes a bottom-up approach to software development.

Events like Zig Days foster collaboration and community building.

Software You Can Love conference highlights innovative software development perspectives.