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« Previous: Execution Engines · Guide Index · Next: Command-Line Interface »

17. Bytecode and Native Builds

Beyond running source directly, QuantoScript can compile a program ahead of time — either to portable bytecode or to a native binary.

Compiling to bytecode (.qvm)

qs build compiles a .qs file to a .qvm bytecode file:

qs build program.qs                 # writes program.qvm
qs build program.qs -o custom.qvm   # custom output path

Run the compiled file with the VM:

qs run program.qvm
qs vm  program.qvm

Compiling ahead of time gives faster startup and lets you distribute a program without shipping its source.

The .qvm format

A .qvm file begins with a magic header and a format version, and carries a CRC32 checksum of the source. The loader validates the header, the version, and the checksum, and reports a clear error on malformed files.

Inspecting bytecode

Disassemble a program for debugging:

qs vm --dump-bytecode program.qs

Compiling to a native binary

The native compiler emits C for a subset of the language, which you can build with any C compiler:

qs native program.qs                     # emits a_native.c
gcc -O2 a_native.c -o program_native     # build it
./program_native

Or let qs compile do both steps:

qs compile program.qs            # writes a.exe (a.out on Unix); pass an output path to change it

qs compile needs two things: a C compiler (gcc) on your PATH, and the QuantoScript runtime sources (quanto.c and src/parts/). The sources are looked up next to the installed binary, under QUANTO_HOME, and in the current directory tree; if you keep them somewhere else, point QS_SOURCE_DIR at the directory that contains quanto.c.

What the native compiler supports

  • Integer arithmetic
  • if / else
  • while and repeat
  • Variable assignment
  • print

What it does not support

Functions, strings, lists, maps, closures, classes, and exceptions are outside the native path. For everything else, run on the interpreter or the bytecode VM.

Next steps

Command-Line Interface lists every command and flag.

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