152 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
152 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
# Bara Lang
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> A Clojure dialect that compiles to Nim → C → native binaries.
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| | JVM Clojure | **Bara Lang** |
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|---|---|---|
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| JVM required | ❌ | ✅ No |
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| GraalVM/native-image | ❌ | ✅ No |
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| Google Closure Compiler | ❌ | ✅ No |
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| Java stdlib dependency | ❌ | ✅ No |
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| Startup time | ❌ Slow (JVM warmup) | ✅ Instant |
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| Binary size | ❌ 50MB+ | ✅ < 1MB |
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[]() []() []()
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## Quick Start
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```bash
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git clone https://gitlab.com/balvatar/lisp-nim.git
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cd lisp-nim
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make build
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make check
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./cljnim run examples/hello.clj
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```
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## Documentation
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- **[English](docs/en/index.md)** — Getting started, architecture, AI integration, API reference
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- **[Български](docs/bg/index.md)** — Първи стъпки, архитектура, AI интеграция, API справочник
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- **[Clojure Test Suite](docs/en/07-clojure-test-suite.md)** — Cross-dialect compliance testing with the [jank-lang/clojure-test-suite](https://github.com/jank-lang/clojure-test-suite)
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## What is this?
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Bara Lang is an **AI-first** Clojure implementation targeting the Nim ecosystem. It compiles Clojure source directly to Nim, then to C, and finally to a native binary.
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Unlike every other Clojure dialect, this project has **zero dependency on the Java ecosystem**:
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| Dialect | JVM? | Java Ecosystem Dependency |
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|---------|------|---------------------------|
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| Clojure (JVM) | ✅ Required | Full — runs on JVM, uses Java stdlib |
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| ClojureScript | ❌ | Heavy — Google Closure Compiler, JS ecosystem |
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| Babashka | ❌ | Medium — GraalVM native-image, still JVM-based |
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| **Bara Lang** | ❌ | **None — completely standalone** |
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### Why?
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- **Native Performance** — No JVM warmup, no GC pauses, C-speed execution
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- **Tiny Binaries** — Single-file executables, often under 1MB
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- **Nim Ecosystem** — Direct access to Nim and C libraries via FFI
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- **AI-Native** — JSON REPL, batch evaluation, AI-assisted error messages and code generation
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- **True Independence** — No JVM, no GraalVM, no Java stdlib, no Google Closure
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## What Makes This Unique?
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### 1. Completely Independent from Java
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This is the **only** Clojure dialect that does not depend on any part of the Java ecosystem — not the JVM, not GraalVM, not the Java standard library, and not Google Closure Compiler. The entire toolchain is self-contained: Clojure source → Nim source → C source → native binary.
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### 2. Native HAMT Persistent Data Structures
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Built from scratch in Nim:
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- **Persistent Vector** — Hash Array Mapped Trie with 32-way branching and structural sharing
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- **Persistent Map** — HAMT-based immutable hash map, O(log₃₂ n) operations
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- **Persistent Set** — Backed by HAMT map
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- **Transients** — Batch mutations with `conj!`, `assoc!`, `persistent!`
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No Java `PersistentVector.java` or `IPersistentMap` interfaces — our own implementation optimized for Nim's memory model and ORC garbage collector.
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### 3. Multiple Compilation Targets from One Codebase
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The same Clojure code compiles to:
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| Target | Status | Use Case |
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|--------|--------|----------|
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| **Native binary** | ✅ Ready | CLI tools, system programming, servers |
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| **Native shared library** (.so/.dll/.dylib) | ✅ Ready | Embed Clojure in Python/Rust/Go/C via FFI |
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| **WASM** | ✅ Ready | Browser, serverless, edge computing |
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| **JavaScript** | ✅ Ready | Frontend, Node.js without 50MB JVM |
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### 4. AOT Compiler — Not an Interpreter
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Full ahead-of-time compilation like ClojureScript, but without the JavaScript/Google Closure dependency:
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- Fast runtime execution at C speed
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- Small binary sizes with no interpreter overhead
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- REPL uses a hybrid model: tree-walking interpreter for fast feedback (<1ms eval), AOT compilation for production builds
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### 5. Nim/C Interop Instead of Java Interop
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Direct FFI to the Nim and C ecosystem:
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```clojure
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(nim/math/sin x)
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(nim/strutils/toUpper s)
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```
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Nim modules are auto-imported. No JNI, no JVM bridging, no Java interop overhead.
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### 6. AI-Native Tooling Built-In
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- **AI-assisted errors** — DeepSeek/MiMo explain compiler errors
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- **AI code generation** — `(ai/generate "quicksort")` in REPL
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- **AI optimization hints** — `(ai/optimize code)` suggests algorithm improvements
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- **AI debugging** — `(ai/debug expr)` analyzes runtime behavior
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- **JSON REPL protocol** — Structured I/O designed for AI agents and IDE integration
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### 7. Concurrency Without the JVM
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- **Atoms** — Compare-and-swap semantics
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- **Agents** — Async state updates with `send`/`await`
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- **core.async channels** — `chan`, `>!`, `<!`, `go` macros — CSP-style concurrency without JVM threads
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## Key Features
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| Feature | Status |
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|---------|--------|
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| Compiler (Clojure → Nim → C → native) | ✅ |
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| REPL with JSON protocol | ✅ |
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| Macro system (`defmacro`, `syntax-quote`, `->`, `->>`) | ✅ |
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| Persistent data structures (HAMT vector/map/set) | ✅ |
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| Transients for batch mutations | ✅ |
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| Atoms, Agents, Channels | ✅ |
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| `loop`/`recur` | ✅ |
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| `try`/`catch`/`finally` | ✅ |
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| Namespace system (`ns`, `:require`) | ✅ |
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| Dependency resolution (deps.edn, Git deps) | ✅ |
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| Nim/C FFI interop | ✅ |
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| AI integration (DeepSeek, OpenAI, MiMo) | ✅ |
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| Cross-compilation targets (JS, WASM, shared libs) | ✅ |
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| Self-hosted REPL with tree-walking interpreter | ✅ |
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| 276+ tests | ✅ |
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## Example
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```clojure
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;; examples/math.clj
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(defn factorial [n]
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(if (= n 0)
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1
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(* n (factorial (- n 1)))))
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(println (factorial 5)) ;; => 120
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```
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```bash
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$ ./cljnim run examples/math.clj
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120
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```
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## AI-Powered Development
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```bash
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export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY="sk-..."
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./cljnim ai "function that sums a list using loop/recur"
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```
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See [docs/en/03-ai-integration.md](docs/en/03-ai-integration.md) for details.
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## License
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MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE)
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