Merge pull request #9 from gotchacode/zig-port

Zig port

Author: vinitkumar

.github/workflows/zig.yml

@@ -7,19 +7,55 @@ on:
     branches: [ main, zig-port ]
 
 jobs:
-  c-build:
+  c-build-gcc:
+    name: C Build (GCC)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-    - name: Build C version
-      run: cd c && make clean && make
+    - name: Check GCC version
+      run: gcc --version
 
-    - name: Test C executable runs
-      run: cd c && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./chat || true
+    - name: Build with GCC (C17 and C23)
+      run: cd c && make clean && make gcc-builds
+    
+    - name: Test GCC C17 executable
+      run: cd c && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./chat-gcc-c17 || true
+    
+    - name: Test GCC C23 executable
+      run: cd c && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./chat-gcc-c23 || true
+    
+    - name: Show binary sizes
+      run: ls -lh c/chat-gcc-*
+
+  c-build-clang:
+    name: C Build (Clang)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    
+    - name: Install Clang
+      run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y clang
+    
+    - name: Check Clang version
+      run: clang --version
+    
+    - name: Build with Clang (C17 and C23)
+      run: cd c && make clean && make clang-builds
+    
+    - name: Test Clang C17 executable
+      run: cd c && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./chat-clang-c17 || true
+    
+    - name: Test Clang C23 executable
+      run: cd c && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./chat-clang-c23 || true
+    
+    - name: Show binary sizes
+      run: ls -lh c/chat-clang-*
 
   zig-build-and-test:
+    name: Zig Build & Test
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
@@ -30,10 +66,13 @@ jobs:
         version: 0.15.2
 
     - name: Build Zig chatbot
-      run: cd zig && mkdir -p zig-out/bin && zig build-exe src/main.zig -femit-bin=zig-out/bin/chat
+      run: cd zig && zig build
 
     - name: Run Zig tests
-      run: cd zig && zig test src/chatbot.zig
+      run: cd zig && zig build test
 
     - name: Test Zig executable runs
       run: cd zig && echo -e "hi\npython\nexit" | timeout 5 ./zig-out/bin/chat || true
+    
+    - name: Show binary size
+      run: ls -lh zig/zig-out/bin/chat

.gitignore

@@ -27,3 +27,7 @@ chat
 # Zig build artifacts
 .zig-cache/
 zig-out/
+c/chat-clang-c17
+c/chat-clang-c23
+c/chat-gcc-c17
+c/chat-gcc-c23

BENCHMARK.md

@@ -1,48 +1,94 @@
-# Chatbot Build Benchmark Results
+# Chatbot Build & Runtime Benchmark Results
 
-Benchmark comparing C and Zig implementations of the chatbot.
+Benchmark comparing C (GCC and Clang, C17 and C23 standards) and Zig implementations.
 
 **System:** macOS arm64  
 **Date:** 2026-01-12
 
-## Results
+## Compiler Versions (Local)
+
+
+| Compiler    | Version                                      |
+| ----------- | -------------------------------------------- |
+| GCC (macOS) | Apple Clang 17.0.0 (gcc is aliased to clang) |
+| Clang       | Homebrew Clang 21.1.8                        |
+| Zig         | 0.15.2                                       |
+
+
+## Runtime Results
+
+
+| Version   | Execution Time | Relative        |
+| --------- | -------------- | --------------- |
+| GCC C17   | 228ms          | 2.23x           |
+| GCC C23   | 102ms          | 1.00x (fastest) |
+| Clang C17 | 107ms          | 1.04x           |
+| Clang C23 | 106ms          | 1.03x           |
+| Zig       | 628ms          | 6.15x           |
+
+
+## Binary Sizes
+
+
+| Version   | Size |
+| --------- | ---- |
+| GCC C17   | 33K  |
+| GCC C23   | 33K  |
+| Clang C17 | 33K  |
+| Clang C23 | 33K  |
+| Zig       | 1.3M |
 
-| Metric | C | Zig | Difference |
-|--------|---|-----|-----------|
-| Build Time | 93ms | 710ms | Zig is 7.63x slower |
-| Executable Size | 33K | 1.3M | Zig is 39x larger |
 
 ## Analysis
 
-### Build Time
-- **C (93ms)**: Fast compilation using GCC with minimal optimization
-- **Zig (710ms)**: Longer compilation time due to Zig's more comprehensive compiler
+### C Compilers
+
+- **GCC C23** was fastest in this run (times vary between runs)
+- **Clang** produces consistently fast binaries across C17/C23
+- On macOS, `gcc` is actually Apple Clang; real GCC is tested on CI (Ubuntu)
+
+### Zig
+
+- Slower due to:
+  - GeneralPurposeAllocator overhead vs C's stack allocation
+  - Zig 0.15 buffered I/O system overhead
+  - Additional runtime safety checks
+- Much larger binary (embeds stdlib, no libc dependency)
+
+### Binary Size
 
-The C version compiles significantly faster due to:
-- Simpler compilation pipeline
-- No build system overhead (direct gcc command)
-- Minimal type checking and analysis
+- All C versions: 33K (links against system libc)
+  - Zig: 1.3M (self-contained, no external dependencies)
 
-### Executable Size
-- **C (33K)**: Small, minimal runtime
-- **Zig (1.3M)**: Larger due to Zig's standard library and runtime
+## Build Configuration
+
+
+| Compiler  | Flags                                    |
+| --------- | ---------------------------------------- |
+| GCC C17   | `gcc -std=c17 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic`   |
+| GCC C23   | `gcc -std=c23 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic`   |
+| Clang C17 | `clang -std=c17 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic` |
+| Clang C23 | `clang -std=c23 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic` |
+| Zig       | `zig build` (debug mode)                 |
 
-The Zig executable is larger because:
-- Zig stdlib is embedded in the binary
-- More comprehensive runtime features
-- GeneralPurposeAllocator adds overhead
 
 ## Notes
 
-- Both versions are unoptimized builds
-- C build uses `-std=c11 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic`
-- Zig build uses default optimization level
-- Times are from cold builds (no cache)
+- All versions produce identical output
+- C23 falls back to `-std=c2x` on older compilers
+- Times vary between runs; relative performance is more meaningful
+- CI tests both GCC and Clang on Ubuntu
 
-## Running the Benchmark
+## Running the Benchmarks
 
 ```bash
+# Full runtime benchmark (all compilers)
+./run_benchmarks.sh
+
+# Build-only benchmark
 ./benchmark.sh
+
+# Show detected compilers
+cd c && make info
 ```
 
-This will clean, rebuild both versions, and compare build times and sizes.

c/Makefile

@@ -1,5 +1,56 @@
-all:
-	gcc -std=c11 -Wall -Wextra -pedantic src/chatbot.c -o chat
+# Detect real GCC vs Apple's gcc alias
+UNAME_S := $(shell uname -s)
+ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
+    # macOS: gcc is actually clang, use explicit paths if available
+    GCC := $(shell which gcc-14 gcc-13 gcc-12 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+    ifeq ($(GCC),)
+        GCC := gcc
+        GCC_NOTE := "(Apple Clang)"
+    endif
+else
+    GCC := gcc
+endif
+
+CLANG := clang
+CFLAGS_COMMON = -Wall -Wextra -pedantic
+SRC = src/chatbot.c
+
+# Default targets
+all: gcc-builds clang-builds
+
+# GCC builds
+gcc-builds: chat-gcc-c17 chat-gcc-c23
+
+chat-gcc-c17:
+	$(GCC) -std=c17 $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-gcc-c17
+
+chat-gcc-c23:
+	$(GCC) -std=c23 $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-gcc-c23 2>/dev/null || \
+	$(GCC) -std=c2x $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-gcc-c23
+
+# Clang builds
+clang-builds: chat-clang-c17 chat-clang-c23
+
+chat-clang-c17:
+	$(CLANG) -std=c17 $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-clang-c17
+
+chat-clang-c23:
+	$(CLANG) -std=c23 $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-clang-c23 2>/dev/null || \
+	$(CLANG) -std=c2x $(CFLAGS_COMMON) $(SRC) -o chat-clang-c23
+
+# Legacy targets for backwards compatibility
+chat: chat-gcc-c17
+	cp chat-gcc-c17 chat
+
+chat-c17: chat-gcc-c17
+	cp chat-gcc-c17 chat-c17
+
+chat-c23: chat-gcc-c23
+	cp chat-gcc-c23 chat-c23
 
 clean:
-	rm -rf *.o chat
+	rm -rf *.o chat chat-c17 chat-c23 chat-gcc-* chat-clang-*
+
+info:
+	@echo "GCC: $(GCC) $(GCC_NOTE)"
+	@echo "Clang: $(CLANG)"

c/src/chatbot.c

@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
+// Enable POSIX/GNU extensions (strdup, strncasecmp, etc.)
+// _GNU_SOURCE is needed because -std=c17 disables extensions by default
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
+
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <limits.h>
-#include <strings.h>
 #include "chatbot.h"
 
 // hash table implementation from here