CColon (C:)

A bytecode-compiled programming language built in Go.
Clean like Python, structured like Go, expressive like Kotlin.

Documentation • Installation • Quick Start • Full Example

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Installation

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TRC-Loop/CColon/main/install.sh | sh

Or specify a version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TRC-Loop/CColon/main/install.sh | sh -s v1.0.0

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TRC-Loop/CColon/main/install.ps1 | iex

Build from source

Requires Go 1.22 or later.

git clone https://github.com/TRC-Loop/CColon.git
cd CColon/ccolon
go build -o ccolon .

Move the binary somewhere on your PATH:

sudo mv ccolon /usr/local/bin/

Quick Start

Interactive Shell

Run ccolon with no arguments to start the REPL (with readline, history, and tab completion):

$ ccolon
CColon v1.0.0 - Interactive Mode
Type 'exit' to quit.

c: > import console
c: > console.println("Hello from C:!")
Hello from C:!
c: >

Running a File

ccolon hello.ccl

hello.ccl:

import console

function main() {
    console.println("Hello, World!")
}

Features

Feature	Description
Bytecode compiled	Compiles to bytecode, runs on a stack-based VM
Static types	int, float, string, bool, list, array, dict, sint
Classes	Inheritance, constructors, public/private fields and methods
Error handling	try/catch/throw with custom error classes
File imports	import "file.ccl" for multi-file projects
Arbitrary precision	sint type for unlimited-size integers (like Python)
Code formatter	ccolon fmt with configurable .ccolonfmt
Bytecode files	ccolon compile to .cclb, ccolon file.cclb to run
Package manager	ccolon pkg install from any GitHub repo
Rich REPL	Readline, history, tab completion, colored output
Standard library	console, math, random, json, fs, datetime, os, http

Language Overview

CColon source files use the .ccl extension.

Types

Type	Description	Example
int	64-bit integer	var int x = 42
sint	Arbitrary precision integer	var sint x = 99999999999999999999
float	64-bit float	var float pi = 3.14
string	Text	var string s = "hello"
bool	Boolean	var bool ok = true
list	Dynamic list	var list a = [1, 2, 3]
array	Fixed-size array	var array a = fixed([1, 2])
dict	Dictionary	var dict d = {"a": 1}

Functions

function add(int a, int b) int {
    return a + b
}

function greet(string name, string prefix = "Hello") {
    console.println(prefix + ", " + name + "!")
}

Classes

class Dog {
    var public string name = ""
    public function init(string name) {
        self.name = name
    }
    public function speak() string {
        return self.name + " barks!"
    }
}

Error Handling

try {
    throw Error("something went wrong")
} catch (Error e) {
    console.println("caught: " + e.message)
}

Control Flow

if (x > 0) {
    console.println("positive")
} else {
    console.println("not positive")
}

while (count < 10) {
    count = count + 1
}

for i in range(5) {
    console.println(i.tostring())
}

for item in items {
    console.println(item)
}

Tools

ccolon file.ccl              # Run a source file
ccolon file.cclb             # Run a compiled bytecode file
ccolon fmt file.ccl           # Format source code
ccolon compile file.ccl       # Compile to bytecode
ccolon pkg install <url>      # Install a package
ccolon pkg list               # List installed packages

For the full language reference, see the documentation.

License

MIT

Logo

You might want to rotate the logo by 90.

This is a happy language indeed.