TigerCode: Custom Language Project

Welcome to TigerCode! This repository contains the source code and documentation for my ongoing effort to create a new programming language and provide tools for users to build their own grammars and languages. The project is in its early stages.

Project Overview

The aim of TigerCode is twofold:

1. Develop TigerCode Language: Create a fully functional programming language from scratch.
2. Empower Users: Provide tools for users to define their own grammars and build custom languages.

Status Legend

Symbol	Status	Description
✅	Completed	Tasks that have been successfully implemented and tested
🟠	In Progress	Currently being worked on and actively developed
🔜	Planned (Short-term)	Next in the development queue, requires completion of one or more in-progress (🟠) items
🟡	Planned (Future)	Features and improvements planned for future development cycles

Archived Goals

1. ✅ Initial Setup: Set up the project repository and initialize basic compiler structure.
2. ✅ Basic Tokenizer: Implemented a basic tokenizer to handle simple keywords and identifiers.
3. ✅ First Grammar File: Created an initial version of the grammar file for basic syntax.
4. ✅ GitHub Master: Figure it out to how to close an issue from a commit.

Current Goals

1. 🟠 Lexer Development: Build a lexer to tokenize source code.
2. 🔜 Parser Development: Build a parser to generate an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST).
3. 🔜 Grammar Extraction: Read a BNF grammar file to define the TigerCode (or user language) syntax.
4. 🔜 Grammar Definition: Formalize valid TigerCode grammar rules.
5. 🔜 Code Translation: Convert parsed TigerCode into C source code, which can be compiled using an external C compiler.

Future Goals

• 🟡 Parse Tree Visualizer: Create a visual tool to help with debugging the parse tree, offering real-time insight into the structure of the source code.
• 🟡 Error Handling: Improve error reporting across lexical, syntactic, and semantic analysis to make the compiler more user-friendly.
• 🟡 NuGet Package: Publish the Lexer and Parser (and other compiler components) as a NuGet package for simple installation and use in projects.
• 🟡 Standard Library for TigerCode: Implement a set of basic functions (I/O, math, memory management) for the TigerCode language to enable easier development.
• 🟡 Self-contained Compilation: Implement parts 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the CompilerOverview (Intermediate Code Generation, Optimization, Code Generation, and Platform-Specific Code Generation) to eliminate the need to rely on an external C compiler. This will enable TigerCodeCompiler to become a fully self-contained compiler capable of compiling TigerCode directly to machine code or intermediate representations like bytecode.

Getting Started

[WIP] Create Your Own Grammar and Compile Projects

1. Clone the Repository:

   • Clone the repository using the following command: git clone https://github.com/yourusername/TigerCode.git
   • Navigate to the project directory: cd TigerCode
   • Alternatively, download it from NuGet packages.

2. Write Your Own Grammar:

   • Define your grammar rules and save them in a file.
   • Pass this grammar file to the lexer.

3. Write a Program:

   • Create a program in your new language.
   • Provide this program to the parser for compilation.

[WIP] Compile TigerCode Files

1. Download the TigerCode Compiler:

   • Obtain the TigerCode compiler from the repository or future distribution channels.

2. Execute the Compiler:

   • Run the compiler, passing your TigerCode file(s) as arguments.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Contact

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to open an issue.

Happy coding!