zinc.

Zinc Next: the toolchain manager

zinc build writes C++ from the bytecode and a C++ compiler turns it into a program. The user never installs that compiler: zig c++ is a hidden toolchain, pinned and downloaded on demand.

zinc build prog.ts -o prog                          # this machine: the compiler found as `c++` ($CXX)
zinc build --target aarch64-linux prog.ts -o prog   # another machine: the pinned zig, downloaded the first time
zinc toolchain targets | install | path | sha256 <file>

Targets: aarch64-linux, armhf-linux (32-bit Raspberry Pi OS, -mcpu=arm1176jzf_s, so it runs on the first Pi too), x86_64-linux, aarch64-macos, x86_64-macos. The program is linked dynamically against the glibc of the target (zig brings the headers and stubs).

How the download is trusted

  1. The version (0.15.2) and the SHA-256 of the archive of each host (macOS and Linux, aarch64 and x86_64) are in src/tc/tc.cpp, taken from https://ziglang.org/download/index.json.
  2. The archive is fetched with curl into a .part file, hashed (third_party/sha256, public domain), and compared with the pin. On a mismatch it is deleted and nothing is unpacked (tests/t0/tc.sh checks this with a tampered archive from a local mirror).
  3. Only then is it unpacked (tar) into ~/.zinc/toolchains/zig-<host>-0.15.2/ and moved into place; the checked hash is recorded next to the binary in SHA256.

The runtime for the target (src/rt, src/zbc, mimalloc) is compiled by that zig and cached as objects in ~/.zinc/cache/<target>/, keyed by the hash of each source and the sizes of the headers: the first build of a target takes about 20 s, later ones are the program only.

Environment: ZINC_HOME (default ~/.zinc), ZINC_ZIG (a zig of your own, for development), ZINC_TC_MIRROR (a base URL or file:// directory for the downloads: an offline mirror, or the test).

Checked

tests/t2/cross.sh builds fib for aarch64-linux on a clean home (download, checksum, cross build) and checks the ELF header (AArch64). The result also ran in an arm64 Linux container (Docker only to run it, never to build it). The sources of the engine are read from the repository (ZN_SOURCE_DIR); shipping them with a packaged zinc belongs to the single-app packaging decision (ZN-031).

Not covered yet

Windows hosts and targets, musl (static) programs, ESP-IDF, PS1 (its own toolchain; the PSP, Vita, PS2 and 3DS SDKs are pinned in src/tc/consoles.cpp, ZN-456), the graphics host for a target (the runtime that draws is built for the machine running zinc), signing of the pins beyond the checksum, and an offline bundle.

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