In Zig, What's a Writer?

As of mid-July 2025, development on a new Io namespace is underway. If you're using Zig 0.14.1 or earlier, this post is still relevant. I've written a bit about Zig's new Writer . I find Zig's idea of a "writer" confusing. This is probably because there are three different types, each trying to compensate for compromises made by the others. Let's try to understand what each is and how it fits into…