Delve core

(Posted to the Haskell-Cafe mailing list)

Delve is a new programming language intended to bring the benefits of static type checking and functional programming to object-oriented design and development. It is an impure, eager language (Yes I can hear the groans of woe and cries for sanity already!)

Currently Delve supports:

Higher-order functions/first class functions
Anonymous functions
Lexical closures
First class continuations
Tail-call optimization
A meta-object model (classes are objects)
S-Expression based syntax.
Embedded Haskell expressions within Delve.

What it doesn't have:
Lots and lots!
Basically what I have is an de-sugared, untyped core language. An analogy could be made with Haskell core files.
I'm going to be working on the type system for next little while (I have a stack of paper and a pen right here!). Once that is implemented we'll see where to go.

Please see the TUTORIAL file included in the source for a brief outlook on Delve's syntax, semantics and planned type system.

However! If you're looking for a new project, and especially if you are an undergraduate, then I think Delve would be a good choice for these reasons:

It's written in a hybrid of Haskell and itself.
It's currently undergoing active development (by me and some pals). You're not going to be lonely!
It's quite powerful already, without too many lines of code (it's now just about 5.5KLOC - it's no goliath! )
It's a programming language: name a compiler which isn't a cool piece of tech! Ok, maybe you can but still, it's a chance to work on something non-trivial and interesting.
Quite honestly, I'm a bit of a fool - I am a math undergrad! So don't you feel foolish about getting involved if you're not a professorial chap! If you feel like it, get involved in the design, and push me the patches :)

It does require lots of love though! It was all hacked out rather quickly :)

Executables which Delve provides:

edc -- The Elgin Delve Compiler

The Elgin Delve Compiler currently supports two backends - the first to a bytecode format for execution on edvm, and the second is to a Haskell source code representation of Delve bytecode. This allows Haskell to be embedded within Delve, for the express purpose of extending and building edvm. edc is written in Haskell (GHC).


edvm -- The Elgin Delve Virtual Machine
The Elgin Delve Virtual Machine executes Delve bytecode files (.dcode format). Since part of the VM is actually driven by Delve bytecode, edvm can be considered a hybrid of Delve and Haskell (again GHC).

Delve continues the grand tradition of naming compilers after Scottish Cities (no, Elgin does not have a university).


Delve is released under the terms of the GNU GPLv3.

For more information on Delve, check my blog at http://killersmurf.blogspot.com/ and the Delve repository at http://github.com/elginer/Delve/