Language tour¶

This page is a practical tour of the syntax you actually see in Novus projects.

If you want the fuller version rather than the quick tour, use the Syntax Reference.

Modules and imports¶

module example;

import lib/std std;
import lib/window/main window;

Variables and basic types¶

let name: str = "Novus";
let count: i32 = 3;
let big: i64 = 999999;
let ready: bool = true;

The ecosystem strongly prefers explicit integer sizes like i32 and i64.

Functions¶

fn greet(name: str) -> void {
    print("Hello " + name);
}

Functions can return values:

fn add(a: i32, b: i32) -> i32 {
    return a + b;
}

Overloading¶

Novus supports function overloading when parameter types differ.

fn label(value: i32) -> str {
    return "number";
}

fn label(value: str) -> str {
    return "text";
}

Conditionals¶

if (count > 0) {
    print("positive");
}

Loops¶

let i: i32 = 0;
while (i < 3) {
    print("loop");
    i = i + 1;
}

Strings¶

let msg: str = "Hello";
let joined: str = msg + " world";
let size: i32 = len(joined);

Arrays¶

let xs: []i32 = [10, 20, 30];
array_append(xs, 40);
let first: i32 = xs[0];

Conditional compilation¶

Novus uses #if(...) for compile-time platform selection.

#if(os == "darwin") {
    import platforms/darwin/arm64;
}

#if(os == "linux") {
    import platforms/linux/common;
}

You will see this constantly in official libraries.

Common conditions¶

#if(os == "darwin")
#if(os == "linux")
#if(os == "windows")
#if(arch == "arm64")
#if(arch == "amd64")
#if(arch == "x86")

Builtins versus libraries¶

Some things are compiler builtins:

len
array_append
mov
getreg
syscall
ptr

Most everyday work should still go through libraries such as std, file_io, window, net, or physics.

A complete small example¶

module example;

import lib/std std;

fn describe(value: i32) -> str {
    return "number " + std.to_str(value);
}

fn describe(value: str) -> str {
    return "text " + value;
}

fn main() -> i32 {
    let xs: []i32 = [1, 2, 3];
    std.print(describe(std.len(xs)));
    std.print(describe("ready"));
    std.exit(0);
    return 0;
}