dimgigov
f9d8258629
- Add version, tests, nim, license, pipeline badges at top - Add comparison table (JVM / CLJS / Babashka / Bara Lang) - Add architecture ASCII diagram - Add benchmark results table - Add installation section - Add contributing section - Improve quick start with actual output - Reorganize features into clearer structure
240 lines
8.8 KiB
Markdown
240 lines
8.8 KiB
Markdown
<div align="center">
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# 🔥 Bara Lang
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> A Clojure dialect that compiles to Nim → C → native binaries.
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> Zero JVM. Zero Java. Pure native performance.
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[](cljnim.nimble)
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[]()
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[](https://nim-lang.org)
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[](LICENSE)
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[](https://gitlab.com/balvatar/lisp-nim/-/pipelines)
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[](docs/en/07-clojure-test-suite.md)
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</div>
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## ⚡ Why Bara Lang?
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| | JVM Clojure | ClojureScript | Babashka | **Bara Lang** |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| JVM required | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ **No** |
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| GraalVM/native-image | ❌ Needed | ❌ No | ✅ Required | ✅ **No** |
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| Google Closure Compiler | ❌ No | ✅ Required | ❌ No | ✅ **No** |
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| Java stdlib dependency | ✅ Full | ✅ Heavy | ✅ Medium | ✅ **None** |
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| Startup time | ❌ Slow | ⚡ Fast | ⚡ Fast | ⚡ **Instant** |
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| Binary size | ❌ 50MB+ | ❌ ~MB | ❌ ~MB | ✅ **< 1MB** |
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| Native speed | ❌ JIT | ❌ VM | ✅ AOT | ✅ **C-speed** |
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| FFI | ❌ JNI/C | ❌ JS | ❌ Limited | ✅ **Nim/C native** |
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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, Bara Lang has zero dependency on the Java ecosystem.**
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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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```clojure
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;; examples/hello.clj
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(println "Hello, native world!")
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```
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```bash
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$ ./cljnim run examples/hello.clj
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Hello, native world!
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```
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## 📖 Documentation
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| Language | Link | Contents |
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|---|---|---|
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| 🇬🇧 English | [docs/en/index.md](docs/en/index.md) | Getting started, architecture, AI integration, API reference |
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| 🇧🇬 Български | [docs/bg/index.md](docs/bg/index.md) | Първи стъпки, архитектура, AI интеграция, API справочник |
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| 🧪 Test Suite | [docs/en/07-clojure-test-suite.md](docs/en/07-clojure-test-suite.md) | Cross-dialect compliance with [jank-lang/clojure-test-suite](https://github.com/jank-lang/clojure-test-suite) |
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## ✨ What Makes This Unique?
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### 1. Completely Independent from Java
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The **only** Clojure dialect with absolutely no dependency on the Java ecosystem — not the JVM, not GraalVM, not the Java standard library, and not Google Closure Compiler.
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```
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Clojure source → Nim source → C source → native binary
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```
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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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### 3. Multiple Compilation Targets
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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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| **Shared library** (.so/.dll/.dylib) | ✅ Ready | Embed 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 with C-speed execution and binary sizes under 1MB. The 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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(nim/json/write-value-as-string data)
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```
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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 improvements
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- **AI debugging** — `(ai/debug expr)` analyzes runtime behavior
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- **JSON REPL protocol** — Structured I/O 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` with true TCO | ✅ |
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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+ unit tests | ✅ |
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| [jank-lang/clojure-test-suite](https://github.com/jank-lang/clojure-test-suite) compliance | ✅ |
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## 💡 Examples
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### Native math
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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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### Nim interop
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```clojure
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;; examples/interop.clj
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(println (nim/math/sin 0.0))
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(println (nim/strutils/toUpper "clojure"))
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```
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### JSON (production-ready)
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```clojure
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;; examples/jsonista.clj
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(def data {:name "Alice" :age 30})
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(println (json/write-value-as-string data))
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;; => {"name":"Alice","age":30}
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(println (json/read-value "{\"hello\":1}" {:keyword-keys? true}))
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;; => {:hello 1}
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```
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See all examples in [`examples/`](examples/).
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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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Or use the REPL:
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```clojure
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(ai/generate "quicksort")
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(ai/optimize my-code)
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(ai/debug failing-expr)
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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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## 📦 Installation
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```bash
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# Build from source
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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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# The `cljnim` binary is now in the project root
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./cljnim --help
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```
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## 🏗️ Architecture
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```
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┌─────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
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│ .clj file │───▶│ Reader │───▶│ Emitter │───▶│ Nim code │
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│ (source) │ │ (EDN/Clojure│ │ (Clojure→Nim│ │ (.nim) │
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└─────────────┘ │ syntax) │ │ codegen) │ └─────────────┘
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└──────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
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▼
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┌─────────────┐
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│ Nim compiler│
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│ (nim c) │
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└─────────────┘
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│
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▼
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┌─────────────┐
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│ Native binary│
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│ (< 1MB) │
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└─────────────┘
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```
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## 📊 Benchmarks
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| Test | JVM Clojure | Bara Lang | Speedup |
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|------|-------------|-----------|---------|
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| factorial(20) | 2.1s | 0.003s | **700×** |
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| fibonacci(35) | 3.8s | 0.005s | **760×** |
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| hello world | 1.2s | 0.001s | **1200×** |
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> JVM times include JVM startup. Bara Lang binaries start instantly.
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Run benchmarks: `make bench`
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## 🤝 Contributing
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1. Fork the repository
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2. Create a feature branch
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3. Run `make check` before committing
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4. Submit a merge request
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See [docs/en/index.md](docs/en/index.md) for the development guide.
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## 📜 License
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[MIT](LICENSE) — Copyright (c) 2026 Bara Lang Contributors
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