SwaziLang

SwaziLang is a scripting language written in C++ that lets you write programs using natural Swahili keywords and syntax.

Want to learn SwaziLang? Get started here →

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Build Instructions

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build .

To create an installable package for your OS:

make package
# Packages are output to build/packages/

Installing the package (recommended — tracked by your package manager):

sudo apt install ./packages/<package-name>.deb   # Debian/Ubuntu

Or install directly without package tracking:

sudo make install
# Note: uninstallation requires manual removal

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Running SwaziLang

After building, run the executable from the build directory:

./swazi

Or install and add to your system PATH to run from anywhere.

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Dependencies

Most dependencies are managed automatically by CMake via FetchContent or bundled with the build. You do not need Conan to build or use SwaziLang.

Contributors only: If you prefer using Conan for third-party dependency management during development, install it with:

pip install conan
conan --version  # verify installation

mkdir build && cd build
conan install .. --build=missing --output-folder=.

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Keywords

| Keyword | Meaning / Usage | |---|---| | data | Declare a variable | | thabiti | Declare a constant or a const getter method | | kazi | Define a function | | tabia | Define a method inside an object or class | | rudisha | Return a value from a function or method | | chapisha | Print with newline | | andika | Print without newline | | kweli | Boolean literal: true | | sikweli | Boolean literal: false | | kama | if statement / as alias in imports | | vinginevyo / sivyo | else / else if branch | | kwa | for loop | | wakati | while loop | | fanya | do-while loop | | sawa | Equality operator (==) | | sisawa | Inequality operator (!=) | | na | Logical AND (keyword form of &&) | | au | Logical OR (keyword form of \|\|) | | unda | Create a new object/class instance (new) | | muundo | Define a class | | rithi | Inherit from a class | | futa | Manually destroy an object instance | | subiri | Await an async operation | | tumia | Import a module | | kutoka | Specify module source in tumia statements | | ruhusu | Export from a module | | jaribu | try block | | makosa | catch block | | kisha | finally block | | onesha | Throw an error or exception | | ainaya | Unary: returns the type of a value | | NINAMBA | Unary: check if value is a number | | NINENO | Unary: check if value is a string | | NIBOOL | Unary: check if value is a boolean | | NIKAZI | Unary: check if value is a function | | NIORODHA | Unary: check if value is a list/array | | NIOBJECT | Unary: check if value is an object (alias: ob) |

Operators & Symbols

• Arithmetic: +, -, *, **, /, %
• Bitwise: standard C bitwise operators
• Parentheses ( ) are used for calling functions and methods — not for declaring them.

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Example

kazi sum(a, b, c):
    rudisha a + b + c;

# This is a comment
data x = 20;
chapisha sum(3, 9, x);  # prints 32

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Comments

Use # for single-line comments.

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Documentation

Full language documentation and learning resources are available at swazilang.netlify.app.

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Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Feel free to open one if you find a bug or want to improve something.

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License

See LICENSE for details.