Mini Projects In Zig

I've been learning Zig language. To master it, I've asked ChatGPT to give me 20 mini projects that will take me from beginner to advanced level. Below are the projects, I've organized from what it gave me.

LEVEL 1 — Core CLI & Data Handling

1️. CLI Calculator

Use Case

A lightweight terminal calculator for quick arithmetic inside scripts.

Functional Requirements

• Accept exactly 3 CLI arguments: <number> <operator> <number>
• Supported operators: + - * /
• Detect:
  • Invalid numbers
  • Invalid operator
  • Divide-by-zero
  • Integer overflow
• Print result to stdout
• Print errors to stderr
• Exit with non-zero status on failure

Example

$ calc 10 + 20
30

$ calc 5 / 0
Error: DivisionByZero

Non-Goals

• No floating-point support
• No interactive mode

2️. Word Count Tool (zwc)

Use Case

Analyze logs or large text files efficiently.

Functional Requirements

• Accept filename as argument
• Output:
  • Line count
  • Word count
  • Byte count
• Must read file in chunks (not load fully)
• Handle files > 500MB
• Handle UTF-8 correctly

Example

$ zwc file.txt
Lines: 120
Words: 890
Bytes: 5600

Non-Goals

• No colored output
• No recursive directory support

3️. Growable String Builder

Use Case

Efficiently build large strings (e.g., JSON, HTML).

Functional Requirements

• Struct:
  • buffer pointer
  • capacity
  • length
• Operations:
  • append(string)
  • insert(index, string)
  • delete(start, end)
  • toSlice()
  • free()
• Automatic resizing
• No memory leaks

Example

builder.append("Hello");
builder.append(" World");
=> "Hello World"

Non-Goals

• No Unicode validation

4️. Config File Loader

Use Case

Load application configuration from file.

Functional Requirements

• Input format:

  key=value

• Ignore blank lines
• Ignore lines starting with #
• Trim whitespace
• Validate known keys
• Return structured config

Example

port=8080
debug=true

Produces:

Config { port = 8080, debug = true }

Non-Goals

• No nested config
• No arrays

5️. CSV Parser

Use Case

Process CSV exports from spreadsheets.

Functional Requirements

• Parse comma-separated values
• Handle quoted fields
• Handle escaped quotes
• Stream file (don’t load full file)
• Return rows iteratively

Example

name,age
zig,7

LEVEL 2 — Data Structures & Memory

6️. Generic Dynamic Array

Use Case

Reusable resizable container for any type.

Requirements

• Generic over type
• push
• pop
• get(index)
• resize
• free
• Double capacity strategy

Example

var list = Array(i32);
list.push(10);

7️. Linked List Library

Use Case

Alternative to dynamic arrays for unknown sizes.

Requirements

• Generic
• pushFront
• pushBack
• remove(value)
• iterate
• free all nodes

8️. RPN Calculator

Use Case

Evaluate postfix math expressions.

Requirements

• Read expression string
• Tokenize by space
• Use stack
• Support + - * /
• Detect malformed expressions

Example

3 4 + 2 * 7 /
Result: 2

9️. Arena Allocator

Use Case

Fast allocation for short-lived objects.

Requirements

• Preallocate block
• Serve aligned allocations
• Reset function
• Track used bytes

10. Logger Library

Use Case

Structured logging for CLI apps.

Requirements

• Levels: DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR
• Compile-time disable DEBUG
• Timestamp
• Output to stdout or file

LEVEL 3 — Systems Programming

1️1. Mini Grep

Use Case

Search logs for patterns.

Requirements

• Pattern string argument
• Filename argument
• Print matching lines
• Print line numbers
• Efficient scanning

1️2. Minimal JSON Parser

Use Case

Parse small JSON config.

Requirements

• Parse objects only
• Support:
  • strings
  • numbers
  • booleans
• Reject invalid JSON
• No external library

1️3. TCP Echo Server

Use Case

Learn networking fundamentals.

Requirements

• Listen on port
• Accept multiple clients
• Echo messages
• Close cleanly on disconnect

1️4. Thread Pool

Use Case

Parallel job execution.

Requirements

• Fixed worker count
• Job queue
• Submit jobs
• Graceful shutdown
• No race conditions

1️5. Parallel File Hasher

Use Case

Speed up large file hashing.

Requirements

• Split file into chunks
• Multiple threads
• Combine SHA-256 hashes
• Print final hash

LEVEL 4 — Advanced Systems Design

1️6. Plugin System

Use Case

Extend program without recompiling.

Requirements

• Load shared library (.so)
• Known interface function
• Call function dynamically
• Handle load errors safely

1️7. Mini Shell

Use Case

Understand process control.

Requirements

• Read user input
• Execute commands
• Support simple pipe (|)
• Exit command

1️8. Text Buffer Engine

Use Case

Core of a text editor.

Requirements

• Load file
• Insert at index
• Delete range
• Save file
• Efficient resizing

1️9. Undo/Redo System

Use Case

Extend text editor safely.

Requirements

• Stack-based undo
• Stack-based redo
• Memory safe
• No leaks

2️0. Persistent Key-Value Store

Use Case

Lightweight embedded database.

Requirements

• CLI:

   set key value
   get key
   delete key

• Persist to disk
• Load on startup
• Handle corrupted file safely

If You Finish All 20 Properly

You will have built:

• Custom data structures
• Allocators
• Parsers
• Network servers
• Thread systems
• Plugin systems
• Storage engine
• Editor core