.TH ZENC 7 "2026-01-15" "Zen C 0.1.0" "Miscellaneous"
.SH NAME
zenc \- Zen C language conventions and overview
.SH DESCRIPTION
Zen C is a modern systems programming language that compiles to C11. It combines
high-level ergonomics with zero runtime overhead. This manual describes the
language semantics, type system, and programming conventions.
.SH TYPE SYSTEM
.SS Primitive Types
.TS
tab(|);
l l l.
Type|C Equivalent|Description
_
int, uint|int, unsigned int|Platform integer
i8..i128|int8_t..__int128_t|Fixed-width signed
u8..u128|uint8_t..__uint128_t|Fixed-width unsigned
isize, usize|ptrdiff_t, size_t|Pointer-sized
f32, f64|float, double|Floating point
bool|bool|Boolean (true/false)
char|char|Single character
string|char*|Null-terminated string
void|void|Empty type
.TE
.SS Aggregate Types
.TP
.B Arrays
Fixed-size with value semantics:
.BR "int[5]" ", " "[int; 5]"
.TP
.B Tuples
Anonymous product types:
.B "(int, string)"
.TP
.B Structs
Named record types with fields
.TP
.B Enums
Tagged unions (sum types) with data
.TP
.B Unions
Untagged unions (unsafe)
.SH MEMORY MANAGEMENT
.SS Manual Memory
.PP
Zen C provides manual memory management with ergonomic helpers:
.TP
.B defer statement
Execute code when scope exits
.TP
.B autofree modifier
Automatically free variable on scope exit
.TP
.B Drop trait
Implement custom cleanup logic (RAII pattern)
.SS Example
.nf
fn process_file() {
    var f = fopen("data.txt", "r");
    defer fclose(f);  // Automatic cleanup
    
    autofree var buffer = malloc(1024);
    // ...
} // buffer freed, file closed automatically
.fi
.SH CONTROL FLOW
.SS Pattern Matching
.PP
Zen C provides exhaustive pattern matching via
.BR match :
.PP
.nf
match value {
    1 => action1(),
    2 | 3 => action2(),
    4..10 => action_range(),
    _ => default_action()
}
.fi
.SS Loops
.TP
.BI "for " "i in 0..10"
Range-based iteration
.TP
.BI "for " "item in collection"
Iterator-based loop
.TP
.B while condition
Conditional loop
.TP
.B loop
Infinite loop (use
.B break
to exit)
.TP
.BI "repeat " "n"
Execute block n times
.SS Advanced Control
.TP
.B guard condition else { ... }
Early return if condition false
.TP
.B unless condition { ... }
Execute if condition false
.SH OPERATORS
.SS Null-Safety Operators
.TP
.B ??
Null coalescing:
.B "val ?? default"
.TP
.B ??=
Null assignment:
.B "val ??= init"
.TP
.B ?.
Safe navigation:
.B "ptr?.field"
.TP
.B ?
Try operator: propagate errors
.SH GENERICS AND TRAITS
.SS Generic Types
.PP
.nf
struct Box<T> {
    item: T;
}

fn identity<T>(val: T) -> T {
    return val;
}
.fi
.SS Traits
.PP
Define shared behavior:
.PP
.nf
trait Drawable {
    fn draw(self);
}

impl Drawable for Circle {
    fn draw(self) {
        // implementation
    }
}
.fi
.SH CONCURRENCY
Zen C provides async/await built on pthreads:
.PP
.nf
async fn fetch() -> string {
    // Background execution
    return "data";
}

fn main() {
    var future = fetch();
    var result = await future;
}
.fi
.SH METAPROGRAMMING
.SS Compile-Time Execution
.TP
.B comptime { ... }
Execute code at compile time
.TP
.BI "embed " \[dq]file\[dq]
Embed file as byte array
.TP
.BI "import plugin " \[dq]name\[dq]
Load compiler plugin
.SS Attributes
.PP
Modify compiler behavior:
.BR @must_use ", " @inline ", " @packed ", " @deprecated
.SH INLINE ASSEMBLY
Zen C supports GCC-style inline assembly with simplified syntax:
.PP
.nf
fn atomic_add(a: int, b: int) -> int {
    var result: int;
    asm {
        "add {result}, {a}, {b}"
        : out(result)
        : in(a), in(b)
        : clobber("cc")
    }
    return result;
}
.fi
.SH COMPILER COMPATIBILITY
.TS
tab(|);
l c l.
Compiler|Support|Notes
_
GCC|100%|Full feature support
Clang|100%|Full feature support
Zig cc|100%|via zig cc wrapper
TCC|~70%|Missing nested functions, __auto_type
.TE
.SH EXAMPLES
.SS Hello World
.nf
fn main() {
    println "Hello, World!";
}
.fi
.SS Generic Vector
.nf
import "std/vec.zc"

fn main() {
    var nums = Vec<int>::new();
    nums.push(42);
    nums.push(100);
    println "{nums.length()} items";
}
.fi
.SH FILES
.TP
.I /usr/share/zenc/std/
Standard library location
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR zc (1),
.BR zc (5),
.BR gcc (1)
.SH STANDARDS
Zen C targets C11 with GNU extensions. Generated code is ABI-compatible with C.