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<ol class="chapter"><li class="chapter-item expanded affix "><a href="index.html" class="active">The Puck Programming Language</a></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/OVERVIEW.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.</strong> Basic Usage</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.1.</strong> Variables and Comments</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.2.</strong> Basic Types</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.3.</strong> Functions and Calls</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.4.</strong> Boolean and Integer Operations</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.5.</strong> Conditionals and Control Flow</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.6.</strong> Error Handling</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.7.</strong> Loops and Iterators</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.8.</strong> Modules</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.9.</strong> Compile-time Programming</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.10.</strong> Async and Threading</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">1.11.</strong> Advanced Types</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/SYNTAX.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.</strong> Syntax</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">2.1.</strong> Indentation Rules [todo]</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">2.2.</strong> Reserved Keywords</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">2.3.</strong> A Formal Grammar</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/TYPES.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.</strong> Type System</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">3.1.</strong> Basic Types</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">3.2.</strong> Parameter Types</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">3.3.</strong> Reference Types</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">3.4.</strong> Abstract Types</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">3.5.</strong> Advanced Types</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/MODULES.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.</strong> Module System</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">4.1.</strong> Using Modules</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">4.2.</strong> Implicit Modules</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">4.3.</strong> Defining Module Interfaces [todo]</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">4.4.</strong> Defining an External API [todo]</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/ERRORS.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.</strong> Error Handling</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.</strong> Errors as Monads</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">5.2.</strong> Errors as Catchable Exceptions</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">5.3.</strong> Errors and Void Functions [todo]</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">5.4.</strong> Unrecoverable Exceptions</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/ASYNC.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.</strong> Async System</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">6.1.</strong> Threading [todo]</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/METAPROGRAMMING.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.</strong> Metaprogramming</a></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">8.</strong> Memory Management [todo]</div></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">8.1.</strong> Reference Counting Optimizations</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">8.2.</strong> Annotations and Ownership</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><a href="book/INTEROP.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.</strong> Language Interop [draft]</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">9.1.</strong> Rust, Swift, Nim</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">9.2.</strong> Java, Kotlin</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">9.3.</strong> Python, Racket, C</div></li></ol></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">10.</strong> Refinement Types [draft]</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">11.</strong> Dependent Types [draft]</div></li><li class="chapter-item expanded "><div><strong aria-hidden="true">12.</strong> Effects System [draft]</div></li></ol>
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<h1 class="menu-title">The Puck Programming Language</h1>
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<h1 id="-puck---an-experimental-programming-language"><a class="header" href="#-puck---an-experimental-programming-language"><span style="font-family: 'Noto Color Emoji'">🧚</span> Puck - A Programming Language</a></h1>
<p>A place where I can make some bad decisions.</p>
<p>Puck is an experimental, memory safe, structurally typed, interface-first, imperative programming language.
It aims to be clean and succinct while performant: inspired by the syntax and metaprogramming of <a href="https://nim-lang.org/">Nim</a>, the error handling of <a href="https://www.swift.org/">Swift</a>, the performance and safety guarantees of <a href="https://www.rust-lang.org/">Rust</a>, the async/await and comptime of <a href="https://ziglang.org/">Zig</a>, and the module system of <a href="https://ocaml.org/">OCaml</a>.</p>
<details>
<summary><b>Example: Interfaces</b></summary>
<pre><code class="language-nim"># Note: These declarations are adapted from the standard prelude.
## The Result type. Represents either success or failure.
pub type Result[T, E] = union
Okay(T)
Error(E)
## The Err interface. Useful for dynamically dispatching errors.
pub type Err = interface
str(Self): str
dbg(Self): str
## A Result type that uses dynamically dispatched errors.
## The Error may be any type implementing Err.
pub type Result[T] = Result[T, ref Err]
## Implements the dbg function for strings.
## As the str function is already defined for strings,
## this in turn means strings now implicitly implement Err.
pub func dbg(self: str) = "\"" & self & "\""
</code></pre>
</details>
<details open>
<summary><b>Example: Pattern Matching</b></summary>
<pre><code class="language-nim">## Opens the std.tables module for unqualified use.
use std.tables
pub type Value = string
pub type Ident = string
pub type Expr = ref union
Literal(Value)
Variable(Ident)
Abstraction(param: Ident, body: Expr)
Application(body: Expr, arg: Expr)
Conditional(condition: Expr,
then_branch: Expr, else_branch: Expr)
## Evaluate an Expr down to a Value, or return an Error.
pub func eval(context: mut HashTable[Ident, Value], expr: Expr): Result[Value]
match expr
of Literal(value): Okay(value)
of Variable(ident):
context.get(ident)
.err("Could not find variable {} in context!".fmt(ident))
of Application(body, arg):
if body of Abstraction(param, body as inner_body):
context.set(param, context.clone.eval(arg)?)
context.eval(inner_body)
else:
Error("Expected Abstraction, found body {} and argument {}".fmt(body, arg))
of Conditional(condition, then_branch, else_branch):
if context.clone.eval(condition)? == "true":
context.eval(then_case)
else:
context.eval(else_case)
of _: Error("Invalid expression {}".fmt(expr))
</code></pre>
</details>
<details>
<summary><b>Example: Modules</b></summary>
<pre><code class="language-nim">...
</code></pre>
</details>
<h2 id="why-puck"><a class="header" href="#why-puck">Why Puck?</a></h2>
<p>Puck is primarily a testing ground and should not be used in any important capacity.
Don't use it. Everything is unimplemented and it will break underneath your feet.</p>
<p>That said: in the future, once somewhat stabilized, reasons why you <em>would</em> use it would be for:</p>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>syntax</strong>, aiming to be flexible, predictable, and succinct, through the use of <em>uniform function call syntax</em> and significant whitespace</li>
<li>The <strong>type system</strong>, being modern and powerful with a strong emphasis on safety, optional and result types, algebraic data types, interfaces, and modules</li>
<li>The <strong>memory management system</strong>, implementing a model of strict ownership while allowing individual fallbacks to reference counts if so desired</li>
<li>The <strong>metaprogramming</strong>, providing integrated macros capable of rewriting the abstract syntax tree before or after typechecking</li>
<li>The <strong>interop system</strong>, allowing foreign functions to be usable with native semantics from a bevy of languages</li>
</ul>
<p>This is the language I keep in my head. It sprung from a series of unstructured notes I kept on language design, that finally became something more comprehensive in early 2023. The overarching goal is to provide a language capable of elegantly expressing any problem, and explore ownership and interop along the way.</p>
<h2 id="how-do-i-learn-more"><a class="header" href="#how-do-i-learn-more">How do I learn more?</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>The <a href="book/BASIC.html">basic usage</a> document lays out the fundamental semantics of Puck.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/SYNTAX.html">syntax</a> document provides a deeper and formal look into the grammar of Puck.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/TYPES.html">type system</a> document gives an in-depth analysis of Puck's extensive type system. <!-- and its relationship to classes and other abstractions. --></li>
<li>The <a href="book/MODULES.html">modules</a> document provides a more detailed look at the first-class module system.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/MEMORY_MANAGEMENT.html">memory management</a> document gives an overview of Puck's memory model. <!-- which is considered a mashup of the models pioneered by Lobster, Rust, and Nim. --></li>
<li>The <a href="book/METAPROGRAMMING.html">metaprogramming</a> document explains how using metaprogramming to extend the language works. <!-- and write more powerful code works. --></li>
<li>The <a href="book/ASYNC.html">asynchronous</a> document gives an overview of Puck's colourless asynchronous support.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/INTEROP.html">interop</a> document gives an overview of how the first-class language interop system works.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/STDLIB.html">standard library</a> document provides an overview and examples of usage of the standard library.</li>
<li>The <a href="book/ROADMAP.html">roadmap</a> provides a clear view of the current state and future plans of the language's development.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are best read in order.</p>
<p>Note that all of these documents (and parts of this README) are written as if everything already exists. Nothing already exists! You can see the <a href="book/ROADMAP.html">roadmap</a> for an actual sense as to the state of the language. I simply found writing in the present tense to be an easier way to collect my thoughts.</p>
<p>This language does not currently integrate ideas from the following areas of active research: effects systems, refinement types, and dependent types. It plans to integrate refinement types in the future as a basis for <code>range[]</code> types, and to explore safety and optimizations surrounding integer overflow.</p>
<h2 id="primary-references"><a class="header" href="#primary-references">Primary References</a></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://graydon2.dreamwidth.org/307291.html">The Rust I wanted had no future</a></li>
<li><a href="https://boats.gitlab.io/blog/post/notes-on-a-smaller-rust/">Notes on a smaller Rust</a></li>
<li><a href="https://matklad.github.io/2023/01/25/next-rust-compiler.html">Notes on the next Rust compiler</a></li>
</ul>
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