Resizable Structs in Zig
9 months ago
- #Data Structures
- #Zig
- #Programming
- Introduction to the concept of 'runtime resizable struct' in Zig.
- Comparison of Zig's primitive backing types for contiguous data storage: arrays and many-item pointers.
- Explanation of slices in Zig as syntax sugar around many-item pointers and lengths.
- Discussion on the limitations of current Zig structs, which have compile-time known sizes.
- Identification of a gap in Zig's tools: runtime-sized contiguous storage for differing types.
- Use-case presented from Zig's standard library where runtime resizable structs would be beneficial.
- Current workaround involves manual byte slice management with potential for errors.
- Proposal for a 'VariableLengthArray' type to simplify runtime-sized data handling.
- Implementation idea using Zig's comptime functionality to create a 'ResizableStruct' utility type.
- Published minimal proof of concept on GitHub with API methods: init, get, resize, and deinit.
- Request for community feedback and real-world use-cases to refine the concept.