Zax Programming Language

Description

Zax is a data oriented modern refresh of a compile-time language which offers high level language capabilities including low level memory access. The language does not enforce type or memory safety but can be used in a type safe manner if desired.

Goals

Small and performant code input
Fast and efficient code output
Data orientated design
Structural typing system
Flow control focused
Full meta programming and reflection
Prioritization of proven language features
Long term source compilation stability
Pay (in terms of cost/efficiency) for what you use
Build control within the language
Full compile-time code execution

Non Goals

Preprocessor
Enforced memory management
Enforced safety (although compiler rules help safety)
Enforced language feature usage (containing costly runtime overhead)
Enforced system library usage
Exceptions
Garbage collection
Package manager (source repository importation is favoured)
Object oriented modeling

Key Features

Zax is a strongly typed compile-time language with some key features:

Low level features
- Raw memory access
- Raw memory casting
- Bitwise operations
- Sized types and alignment
- Manual / raw memory allocation / deallocation
- Memory clear and memory copy
- Custom allocators
- Collective allocation/deallocation
- Raw pointers and references
- Uninitialized memory type control
- Direct type casting
- Allocation vs initialization control
- union types
- Structure of arrays or array of structure support
Type and Flow control features
- Familiar flow controls
  - if, else
  - switch, case, default
  - while / until
  - redo while / redo until
  - each, in
  - each, from
- scope control and logic grouping with break and continue
- Arrays
- Strongly sized integers, floating points, enums, boolean, strings
- Enum with underlying type
- Locally defined variables
- Locally defined types
High level features
- Sized arrays, including strings
- unique, own, strong, weak, handle, hint, discard, and collect memory
- Default type initialization
- Optional functional arguments
- Multiple functional argument returns
- Polymorphic types and functions
- mutable and immutable types
- Operator overloading
- Constructors and destructors
- Type default value initialization (including memory allocation)
- Lambda functions with capture
- Member functions
- Namespace importation control
- Module importation direct from source control
- Multi-shared module compilation control
- Source preservation by asset/module management
- Library / compiler separation
- Type composition with inner/outer casting (without inheritance)
- Safe type conversion using as
- Selective runtime type information
- defer end of scope code execution
- private and invisible types during importation
- Type and variable alias
- Partial types
- Anonymous types
- nothing types instances
- value polymorphism for functions
Asynchronous programming
- Asynchronous function calling
- Parallel vs sequential allocators
- Lazy type evaluation
- Promises
- Tasks
- Coroutines
Meta programming
- enum meta data
- Automatic compile-time if / else
- Custom compile-time literals
- Variadic functions
- Easily defined meta-function parameters
- compile-time code reflection
- compile-time code execution
- compile-time code generation
- compile-time code checking
- Full compile type meta-data and traits
- Built-in build control (tooling chain/ide not required to build)
Other
- Usage deprecation
- No header files
- Runtime code panics (with selective disabling)
- Harmonized warning suppression code mechanisms across compilers

… and much much more …

A prototype for the zax-compiler is being developed in C++.

Credit and Inspiration

Zax was inspired by C++, C, Pascal, Java, JavaScript, Jai, Objective-C, C#, F#, and Haskell and finally pays homage to Dr. Seuss.