Mint

A simple, mathematical language.

Contents

1. Foreword
2. Install
   • From npm
   • From GitHub
3. Using Mint
   • The REPL
     • REPL commands
   • Interpreting a Mint file
   • Compiling to JavaScript
4. Syntax
   • Comments
   • Variables in Mint
   • Functions in Mint
     • Parameters
     • Function body and return value
     • Calling functions
     • Higher order functions
   • Errors in Mint

Foreword

This language is, for the most part, a learning project. It is not intended for any serious use cases. Do not expect this language to be highly performant or entirely bug-free.

Install

From npm

npm install -g mint-lang

From GitHub

git clone https://github.com/thomas-crane/mint.git
cd mint
npm link

Using Mint

There are several ways to use the Mint language after it is installed. Mint is first and foremost designed to be an interpreted language, but also has a compiler to JavaScript.

The REPL

Mint has a REPL (Read, Evaluate, Print, Loop) which can be started by simply using the command mint with no arguments. The REPL uses the same global environment for the whole session (unless reset), so variables can be declared and then later reused.

REPL commands

• .exit - Exits the REPL. .quit and .q also work.
• .help - Prints the help message.
• .reset - Resets the global environment (clears all variables).

Interpreting a Mint file

Mint files can be interpreted using the command mint with the file to interpret as the argument. For example,

mint mymintfile.mint

The file to interpret is relative to the current working directory of the console, and may be a relative path.

mint mintfiles/example.mint

Optionally, the --debug flag can be included when interpreting a file. Using this flag will print the contents of all environments which were created while evaluating the file. For example,

# myfile.mint
let x be 10;
let y be 20;

> mint myfile.mint
> Environments:
> @Global
>   x: 10
>   y: 20

Compiling to JavaScript

Mint files can be compiled to JavaScript by simply adding the --compile flag after the file path. If the flag is present, the program will not be evaluated, but will instead be written to a JavaScript file with the same name as the original file. For example,

mint myfile.mint --compile

Will compile the program and write the result to the file myfile.mint.js.

The CLI will overwrite the file if it already exists, so be sure not to use this command if there is a chance that an existing file may be accidentally overwritten.

Syntax

Mint is designed to look and feel more like describing a mathematical equation than writing code. Because of this, Mint uses more words than symbols to describe operations.

Comments

Mint currently only supports line comments. The start of a comment is denoted by the # symbol, and the end of the comment is denoted by the end of the line.

# My Mint program.
# Prints the inverse of a number.
let inverse be fn with x returning 1 / x;
print inverse of 5; # Inline comments are supported too.

Variables in Mint

All variables in Mint are immutable. Once a variable has been declared, it can under no circumstances be changed in any way. Attempting to reassign an existing variable will raise a VariableMutation error and will halt execution.

Because variables are immutable, they must be assigned immediately. Variables are created using let and be.

let x be 10;
let y be x * 2;

Functions in Mint

This API is likely to change.

Parameters

A function must have at least one parameter, but will accept an arbitrary number of parameters separated by commas.

let example be fn with x # Valid.
let example be fn with x, y, z # Valid.
let example be fn with x y z # Invalid, commas are required.

Function body and return value

A function must have one and only one expression in its body. This expression is also the return value of the function.

Functions are created using let, with and returning

let inverse be fn with x returning 1 / x;
let identity be fn with x returning x;

Calling functions

Functions are called using the of keyword.

let negation be fn with x returning -x;
print negation of 5;
# prints -5.

Higher order functions

Mint allows functions to be used as parameters, as well as allowing functions to be returned from other functions.

let multiplier be fn with x returning fn with y returning x * y;
let double be multiplier of 2;
print double of 10;
# prints 20.

let applyTwice be fn with x, y returning x of x of y;
let inverse be fn with x returning 1 / x;
let identity be fn with x returning applyTwice of inverse, x;
print identity of 10;
# prints 10.

Errors in Mint

There are several types of errors which may be thrown by a Mint program. All errors are considered fatal and will halt execution if they are encountered.

• NullReference - Thrown if a variable that has not yet been declared is referenced.
• VariableMutation - Thrown if an existing variable is reassigned.
• InvalidCharacter - Thrown if an unrecognized character is found in the source code.
• InvalidSyntax - Thrown if invalid syntax is encountered while parsing the source code.

There are two other types of errors, InvalidBinaryOp and UnimplementedVisitor. These errors indicate that there is a problem with the interpreter itself. If you encounter one of these errors, please consider opening an issue and including the code necessary to reproduce the error.