DynLex

A natural-language-like programming language that compiles to native code via LLVM.

Features

• Pattern-based syntax that reads like English
• Compiles to native executables via LLVM
• Static typing with full type inference
• Standard library written in DynLex itself
• VS Code extension with LSP support

Build

./scripts/build.sh

Requires C++23, CMake, Ninja, nlohmann_json, and LLVM 20+.

Browser Compiler (Phase 1)

DynLex can be built as a browser-hosted compiler module (dynlex_web.js/.wasm) with a Monaco-based web UI. This target requires Emscripten (emcmake, emcc) and an LLVM build/toolchain compatible with the Emscripten target (LLVM_DIR if needed). Host-native LLVM installs (for example /usr/lib/llvm-*) are not wasm-linkable for this target.

Build compiler WASM artifacts and copy them into the web app:

source ~/emsdk/emsdk_env.sh
export LLVM_DIR="$HOME/toolchains/llvm-wasm-20/install/lib/cmake/llvm"
./scripts/build_web.sh

Run the compiler WASM smoke test:

./scripts/test_web_smoke.sh

Run the web app:

cd src/web/ide
npm install
npm run dev

Refresh the deployable static web root (web/) after IDE changes:

./scripts/build_web_root.sh

Web layout:

• src/web/ide/: IDE source (Vite + Monaco)
• web/: deployable web root (site/wiki source + built IDE assets)

The web app uses:

• single editable source file at /workspace/main.dl
• bundled stdlib from /lib/*.dl in Emscripten virtual FS
• live debounced compile with diagnostics markers
• LSP-powered Monaco interactions (hover, go-to-definition, semantic tokens)
• built-in light and dark themes
• Run executing the latest successful emitted program WASM

Compiler WASM C ABI exports:

• dynlex_web_init
• dynlex_web_set_main_source
• dynlex_web_compile_and_emit_wasm
• dynlex_web_get_diagnostics_json
• dynlex_web_get_output_wasm_ptr / dynlex_web_get_output_wasm_len
• dynlex_web_get_output_wasm_base64
• dynlex_web_get_compiler_log_json
• dynlex_web_get_lsp_hover_json
• dynlex_web_get_lsp_definition_json
• dynlex_web_get_lsp_semantic_tokens_json

Install Dependencies

Linux (apt/dnf/pacman/zypper):

./scripts/install.sh

macOS (Homebrew):

./scripts/install.sh
if brew info llvm@20 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  export PATH="$(brew --prefix llvm@20)/bin:$PATH"
else
  export PATH="$(brew --prefix llvm)/bin:$PATH"
fi

Windows (winget):

.\scripts\install.ps1
# if clang is not on PATH after install, set LLVM path manually:
$env:PATH="$env:ProgramFiles\LLVM\bin;$env:PATH"
$env:LLVM_DIR="$env:ProgramFiles\LLVM\lib\cmake\llvm"

Usage

./build/dynlex program.dl -o program.out && ./program.out

Release

Compiler/release version source of truth is metadata/VERSION.

Create and push a release tag with automatic version bump:

./scripts/release.sh patch   # or: minor, major, set X.Y.Z

ASan Leak Check (With Third-Party Suppressions)

For sanitizer leak checks that ignore known process-lifetime allocations from third-party libraries (for example LLVM internals), use:

./scripts/asan_leak_check.sh

By default this runs build-asan/dynlex with scripts/lsan.supp.

Performance Snapshot (vs Python)

From repository benchmarks:

Benchmark	Python	DynLex O0	DynLex O3
Sum 0..100,000,000	6.556s	0.196s (33x faster)	0.001s (6556x faster)
Collatz 1..1,000,000	11.363s	0.969s (12x faster)	0.221s (51x faster)

Benchmark details and source programs:

• tests/benchmarks/01_sum_100m.md
• tests/benchmarks/02_collatz.md

Times are hardware- and toolchain-dependent; run the benchmark files locally for your exact environment.

Ubuntu PPA Packaging

Launchpad packaging lives in packaging/launchpad. Use that directory for Debian metadata, source-package builds, and PPA publishing so the project root stays focused on the compiler itself.