Welcome to ashj, a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented programming language. ashj is inspired by Lox, a language developed in the book Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom. ashj takes the core concepts of Lox and adds a unique twist, making it a powerful tool for developers interested in simplicity and expressiveness.
ashj is a dynamic, interpreted programming language that supports object-oriented programming, functional programming paradigms, and more. It's designed to be simple and easy to learn, making it an excellent choice for beginners, as well as a convenient scripting language for experienced developers.
Inspired by Lox, ashj retains the elegance and minimalism of its predecessor while introducing improvements and enhancements tailored for modern development.
AshJ is implemented in Java and utilizes an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) for interpreting code. This design makes it straightforward to extend and maintain. Additionally, a C bytecode implementation of AshJ, named Ash, is available here, offering a more performance-oriented alternative.
- Java 8 or later installed on your machine.
Download the latest version of ashj from the releases page. Once downloaded, you can run the installer for your operating system:
- Windows: Run the
.exeinstaller. - macOS: Run the
.pkginstaller. - Linux: Run the
.debor.rpmpackage installer.
After installation, you can run ashj from the command line:
ashj path/to/your/script.ashjOr start an interactive REPL session:
ashj- Object-Oriented: Supports classes and inheritance, allowing for the creation of complex data structures.
- First-Class Functions: Functions in ashj can be passed around as first-class citizens, allowing for higher-order functions and functional programming techniques.
- Dynamic Typing: Variables in ashj are dynamically typed, making it flexible and easy to use.
- Garbage Collection: Automatic memory management through garbage collection.
- Lexical Scoping: Supports block-scoped variables.
- Lightweight: Minimalist language design for quick execution and fast development cycles.
Here’s a quick overview of the syntax in ashj:
// Variables
var name = "ashj";
var age = 3 + 4;
// Functions
fun greet() {
print("Hello, " + name + "!");
}
greet(); // Outputs: Hello, ashj!
// Classes
class Animal {
init(type) {
this.type = type;
}
speak() {
print "This is a " + this.type;
}
}
var dog = Animal("Dog");
dog.speak(); // Outputs: This is a Dog// If-Else Statements
if ( age > 18 ) {
print("Adult");
} else {
print("Not an Adult");
}
// While Loop
var count = 0;
while ( count < 3 ) {
print(count);
count = count +1;
}
// For Loop
for ( var i = 0; i < 5; i = i + 1 ) {
print(i);
}To see more examples, check out the examples directory in this repository. You can run these examples using the ashj
interpreter:
ashj examples/hello_world.ashjContributions are welcome! If you have ideas for new features or have found bugs, please open an issue or submit a pull
request. See the CONTRIBUTING.md file for more details.
ashj is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more information.
Certainly! Here’s how you can include an Acknowledgements section in your README.md file:
AshJ would not have been possible without the inspiration and guidance provided by Robert Nystrom's book, Crafting Interpreters. This book offers a comprehensive guide to building interpreters from scratch, and its implementation of Lox served as the foundation for AshJ.
A special thanks to Robert Nystrom for his incredible work in the programming community and for making Crafting Interpreters freely available to everyone. If you're interested in understanding the inner workings of interpreters, we highly recommend checking out his book at craftinginterpreters.com.