SYNTAX.md

Neit Programming Language Guide

Neit Requirements

Neit requires clang to be installed on your system for building code. However, clang is not required to run the code using the interpreter.

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Neit Command Line Arguments

Neit provides a set of easy-to-use command-line arguments for efficient development.

Main Commands

• run

  • Lexes, parses, (future) optimizes, and runs Neit code in the interpreter.
  • Example:

    neit run joy.nsc

• build

  • Lexes, parses, generates C code, and builds it with clang.
  • Example:

    neit build joy.nsc

Options

• -h or --help

  • Displays help details about commands and options.
  • Example:

    neit -h

• -grammar=<file>

  • Specifies a grammar file for parsing. File extension does not matter.
  • Example:

    neit run joy.nsc -grammar=grammar.txt

• -opt=<level>

  • Specifies the optimization level for code generation.
    • 1 – Least optimizations for minor speed improvements.
    • 2 – Moderate optimizations for a balance of speed and size.
    • 3 – Full optimizations for faster and smaller output.
    • 4 – Aggressive optimizations with longer compile times.
  • Example:

    neit build joy.nsc -opt=2

• -static

  • Generates a statically linked binary.
  • Example:

    neit build joy.nsc -static

• -o=<name>

  • Specifies the output file name (default: output).
  • Example:

    neit build joy.nsc -o=mybinary

• -cls

  • Clears the screen before running code (applies to the run command).
  • Example:

    neit run joy.nsc -cls

• -retain-c

  • Retains the generated C file after building.
  • Example:

    neit build joy.nsc -retain-c

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Neit Syntax

Variable Declaration

• Declare a string variable:

  may name = "joy"
  

• Declare an integer variable:

  may age = 16
  

• Declare a float variable:

  may height = 16.2
  

• Refrence a variable to another variable:

  may name2 = name
  

Print Statements

• Print normal text:

  print Hello world
  

• Print the value of a variable:

  print {name}
  

Comments

• Single-line comments use the # symbol:

  # This is a single-line comment
  print Hello
  

• Multi-line comments use ## to begin and end:

  ## Multi-line comment example:
  This spans multiple lines ##
  

Input

• Take input from the user:

  may name = takein()
  print {name}
  

Clear Screen

• Clear the screen using the cls command:

  cls
  

Functions (Commands)

• Define a command (function):

  cmd hi {
    (name:str) # Define parameters (currently ignored but required)
    println hi
  }
  

  please note that the arguments are optinal and they can be empty , just put ()

• Call a command:

  call hi {"joy"}
  

• If no arguments are required:

  call hi
  

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Semigen Grammar

You can specify custom grammar rules to change commands. The format is:

<original_command> ~ <replacement>

Example:

print ~ say

This replaces print with say. You can now use say instead of print to output text, while still being able to use print.

Note: Only commands can be changed, not other syntax elements.

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