/clarke

Primary LanguageRuby

Clarke

This is an interpreted programming language made for fun. Not even close to finished.

let multiply = (a, b) =>
  if (b > 0) {
    a + multiply(a, b - 1)
  } else {
    0
  }

print(multiply(2, 3))

Requirements

  • Ruby 2.5+
  • Bundler

Set up

bundle

Run

Call bin/clarke with interpret and the name of the file to run, e.g.

bin/clarke interpret samples/lambda.cke

Syntax

Values:

3
"string"
true
false

Declaration and assignment:

let factor = 3

let factor = 3
factor = 4

Functions:

let double = (a) => 2 * a

let double = fun (a) { 2 * a }

Function calls:

print(123)

Conditionals:

if (b > 0) {
  print("Bigger!")
} else {
  print("Smaller!)
}

Naming

  • fun: function
  • var: variable
  • def: definition
  • lit: literal
  • ref: reference
  • param: parameter

To do

  • Allow mutually recursive functions
  • Avoid any-typed expressions
    • Introduce well-typed function type: (type, …) => type
  • Initialize all ivars

Ideas

In no particular order:

  • Comments
  • Isolated scoping
    • e.g. iso fun a() { … } which cannot access outer env
  • More primitive types
    • Chars
    • Floats
    • Null
  • Compound types
    • Arrays
    • Structs
    • Maps
    • Ranges
    • Sets
    • Enumerable mixin
  • Iterators
  • If without else
  • Modules
    • Require all exported functions to be explicitly typed