CLI Reference

The Zym CLI is a single binary that compiles, runs, and packages Zym programs. It is also a worked example of embedding the language, since every native it ships is registered through the same public C API any other host would use.

Quick Reference

File Types

• .zym: Zym source
• .zbc: compiled bytecode, portable across platforms
• .zpk: a package containing bytecode plus any assets it ships with
• a standalone executable: the runtime and your program in one file, requiring nothing else installed

All three input forms are interchangeable at the command line: zym inspects what it was handed and does the right thing. The Pack module exposes the same packaging machinery to scripts.

Running Scripts

Write a file and run it directly. There is no build step for the common case.

print("Hello, Zym!")

zym hello.zym

Packaging

A script can be packed into a standalone executable that carries the runtime inside it. The result depends on nothing else being installed on the target machine.

zym main.zym -o my_app

# my_app has the runtime and your code inside
./my_app

Packing across platforms works by pointing at an alternate runtime:

zym main.zym -o my_app.exe -r windows

print

The one function the CLI registers directly into the global scope, rather than as a member of a module namespace. Everything else lives behind a namespace. See Conventions.

Writes to stdout, followed by a newline. Called with no arguments it prints an empty line. Called with exactly one argument it converts that value to a string and prints it, whatever its type. Called with two or more arguments the first must be a string, and is treated as a format string for the rest; passing a non-string first argument raises a runtime error.

print()                            // empty line
print(42)                          // any single value, stringified
print("%s scored %n", name, score)  // format string + arguments

Format specifiers are type-checked: passing a value of the wrong kind raises a runtime error naming the specifier and the position, rather than printing something misleading.

Native Modules

Each module is a single global identifier holding a namespace of methods. They are registered at VM startup through the public C API, which means the catalog below is not privileged. A host embedding zym_core registers its own natives exactly the same way.