Bob Nystrom
95626bb136
Replace the manually embedded C string constants for builtin Wren modules with a new build system that automatically generates `.wren.inc` header files from `.wren` source files. The old `script/generate_builtins.py` is removed and replaced by `script/wren_to_c_string.py`, which produces standalone include files with a `PREAMBLE` containing the module name and source path. The Makefile gains pattern rules to rebuild these `.wren.inc` files whenever the corresponding `.wren` source changes, and the `builtin` phony target is removed since the generation is now automatic. The `wren.mk` wildcard lists are updated to include the new `.wren.inc` files as dependencies. The `timer.c` and `wren_core.c` source files now `#include` their respective `.wren.inc` headers instead of defining the string literals inline, and the `timer.wren` trailing newline is removed.
Wren is a small, fast, class-based concurrent scripting language
Think Smalltalk in a Lua-sized package with a dash of Erlang and wrapped up in a familiar, modern syntax.
IO.print("Hello, world!")
class Wren {
flyTo(city) {
IO.print("Flying to ", city)
}
}
var adjectives = Fiber.new {
["small", "clean", "fast"].each {|word| Fiber.yield(word) }
}
while (!adjectives.isDone) IO.print(adjectives.call())
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Wren is small. The VM implementation is under 4,000 semicolons. You can skim the whole thing in an afternoon. It's small, but not dense. It is readable and lovingly-commented.
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Wren is fast. A fast single-pass compiler to tight bytecode, and a compact object representation help Wren compete with other dynamic languages.
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Wren is class-based. There are lots of scripting languages out there, but many have unusual or non-existent object models. Wren places classes front and center.
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Wren is concurrent. Lightweight fibers are core to the execution model and let you organize your program into an army of communicating coroutines.
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Wren is a scripting language. Wren is intended for embedding in applications. It has no dependencies, a small standard library, and an easy-to-use C API. It compiles cleanly as C99, C++98 or anything later.
If you like the sound of this, let's get started. You can even try it in your browser! Excited? Well, come on and get involved!
