Vex Programming Language

Vex is a simple and powerful programming language. It is built with Rust. It has a special Inspector tool to see how the compiler works step-by-step.

Requirements

You need Rust and Cargo on your computer.

How to Run Vex

To run a Vex file (.vx), use this command:

cargo run -p vex-cli -- path/to/your_file.vx

Compilation Statistics

You can see how long each compiler step (Lexing, PreParsing, etc.) takes and how much RAM they use.

Phase Speed Test:

cargo run -p vex-cli -- path/to/your_file.vx --stats

Phase RAM Usage:

To see memory (RAM) used by each step, you need the performance-stats feature:

cargo run --features performance-stats -p vex-cli -- path/to/your_file.vx --stats

Using the Vex Inspector (Debugger)

The Inspector is a powerful tool to see how the compiler works. You must use the inspector feature for it to work.

GUI Inspector (Recommended)

Our new graphical inspector provides a side-by-side view of Lexer tokens, PreParser results, AST nodes, and Source code highlighting.

To open the GUI Inspector:

cargo run --features inspector -p vex-cli -- path/to/your_file.vx --inspect --gui

Key Features:

• Full View: Complete pipeline visualization in a single screen.
• Execution Trace: Real-time call stack tracking of the Rust parser algorithms.
• Cross-Highlighting: Clicking a token highlights it in all other lists and the source code.
• Automatic Sync: AST selection automatically scrolls and highlights related tokens.

TUI Inspector (Terminal)

If you prefer the terminal, you can use the classic TUI inspector:

cargo run --features inspector -p vex-cli -- --inspect path/to/your_file.vx

Inspector Shortcuts:

• SPACE: Move to the next step.
• Skip Phase: Fast-forward to the next compiler phase.
• Reload (R): Reload the source file and restart inspection.
• Focus (F): Re-center the view on the current selection.
• Q: Quit the Inspector.

Exporting Data

If you want to save the token list, press E in the Inspector. It will create a file named report*...*.md. You can open it in VS Code to see a nice table of your code.

For Contributors

We love help! To add a new feature:

1. Look at vex-lexer to change how characters are read.
2. Look at vex-parser to change the language rules.
3. Use the Inspector to test your changes. It helps you find bugs easily.

Project Structure:

• vex-core: Basic types (Tokens, Spans).
• vex-lexer: Converts code text into tokens.
• vex-parser: Checks the code structure.
• vex-inspector: The TUI debugger tool.
• vex-cli: The main program.

Happy coding with Vex!