ZLang Compiler v0.13 (No longer worked on)

ZLang – Minimalist programming language and compiler written in Python. Produces a single-file executable (z.exe) with no dependencies and cross-platform support. Ideal for learning, experimentation, and rapid prototyping.

No longer worked on

Due to the low amount of contributors (just 1) and the amount of bugs and horrible code in this project, it is no longer maintained and worked on.

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⚡ ZLang Installation & Quick Start

For Users

1. Download: z.exe (single file, no installation needed)
2. Setup: Run z.exe or double-click to install to PATH
3. Compile: z program.z → creates program.exe

# Quick commands
z.exe               # Run compiler
z -v                # Check version
z hello.z           # Compile to hello.exe
z program.z -f c     # Generate C source code
z --help            # Show all commands

For Developers

# Build compiler from source
python -m PyInstaller --onefile --name=z --console --clean main.py

# Test
./z
z test.z

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🔧 ZLang Compiler Usage

Compilation Commands

# Default: compile to executable
z program.z                    # → program.exe
z program.z -o myapp.exe       # → custom executable

# Generate C source code
z program.z -f c               # → program.c
z program.z -f c -o output.c   # → output.c

# Specify compiler
z program.z -c gcc             # Use GCC
z program.z -c clang           # Use Clang (default)

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✨ ZLang Features

Core Features

• ✅ Single-file executable (z.exe)
• ✅ No external dependencies
• ✅ Cross-platform: Windows, Linux, macOS
• ✅ Module system with IMPORT statements
• ✅ Automatic C compiler detection

Robustness & Security

• ✅ Path traversal protection
• ✅ Memory-safe operations and cleanup
• ✅ Race condition prevention in update mechanism
• ✅ Input validation and UTF-8 enforcement

User Experience

• ✅ Colored terminal output
• ✅ Clear progress indicators
• ✅ Helpful error messages with file/line context
• ✅ Performance timing reports
• ✅ Comprehensive error codes

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📘 ZLang Programming Language Overview

ZLang is a procedural programming language with modern control flow and explicit instructions like LET, ADD, SUB, PRINT.

Quick Example – Fibonacci

FN fibonacci(int n) -> int:
    IF n <= 1:
        RET n
    LET int a 0
    LET int b 1
    LET int fib 0
    FOR i 2..n:
        ADD a b fib
        LET a b
        LET b fib
    RET b

FN main():
    LET int count 10
    CALL fibonacci(count) -> result
    PRINT result

Output:

55

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🧠 ZLang Language Features

Variables & Data Types

• int, float, double, bool, string
• Mutable (MOV) and immutable (CONST)
• Pointer support: PTR int ptr x
• Arrays: fixed-size, dynamic, and empty

Arithmetic Operations

• ADD, SUB, MUL, DIV, MOD
• INC, DEC

Control Flow

• Functions: FN name(params): ... RET value
• Calls: CALL func(args) -> result
• Conditionals: IF, ELIF, ELSE
• Loops: FOR, WHILE

I/O

• IMPORT "file.z"
• PRINT, PRINTSTR
• READ (with type and prompt)
• ERROR "message"

Compiler Optimizations

• Constant folding
• Precompiled regexes
• Identifier caching
• Smart code generation

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🧩 Architecture

File	Purpose
main.py	CLI & entry point
setup_update.py	PATH installation & updates
lexer.py	Tokenizes .z source code
optimizer.py	Constant folding & optimization
codegen.py	Generates C code
errors.py	Error handling & codes
semantics.py	Semantic analysis & validation

Compilation pipeline:

.z source → lexer → optimizer → codegen → C code → [C compiler] → executable

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🛠️ Requirements

• Windows: MSVC, MinGW-w64, or Clang
• Linux/macOS: GCC or Clang
• Python only needed for building compiler (z.exe)

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📋 Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for full version history.

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⭐ Boosting ZLang

If you like ZLang, please:

• ⭐ Star the repo
• 🍴 Fork & contribute
• 📢 Share with friends and communities

Your support helps make ZLang better! 🚀