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The V Programming Language

[vlang.io](https://vlang.io) | [Docs](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/doc/docs.md) | [Changelog](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md) | [Speed](https://fast.vlang.io/) | [Contributing & compiler design](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
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## Key Features of V - Simplicity: the language can be learned over the course of a weekend - Fast compilation: ≈110k loc/s with a Clang backend, ≈500k loc/s with native and tcc backends *(Intel i5-7500, SSD, no optimization)* ([demo video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvP6wmcl_Sc)) - Easy to develop: V compiles itself in less than a second - Performance: as fast as C (V's main backend compiles to human-readable C) - Safety: no null, no globals, no undefined behavior (wip), immutability by default - C to V translation ([Translating DOOM demo video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oXrz3oRoEg)) - Hot code reloading - [Flexible memory management](https://vlang.io/#memory). GC by default, manual via `v -gc none`, arena allocation via `v -prealloc`, autofree via `v -autofree` ([autofree demo video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmB8ea8uLsM)). - [Cross-platform UI library](https://github.com/vlang/ui) - Built-in graphics library - Easy cross-compilation - REPL - [Built-in ORM](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/doc/docs.md#orm) - [Built-in web framework](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/vlib/vweb/README.md) - C and JavaScript backends - Great for writing low-level software ([Vinix OS](https://github.com/vlang/vinix)) ## Stability guarantee and future changes Despite being at an early development stage, the V language is relatively stable and has backwards compatibility guarantee, meaning that the code you write today is guaranteed to work a month, a year, or five years from now. There still may be minor syntax changes before the 1.0 release, but they will be handled automatically via `vfmt`, as has been done in the past. The V core APIs (primarily the `os` module) will still have minor changes until they are stabilized in V 1.0. Of course the APIs will grow after that, but without breaking existing code. Unlike many other languages, V is not going to be always changing, with new features being introduced and old features modified. It is always going to be a small and simple language, very similar to the way it is right now. ## Installing V from source --> **_(this is the preferred method)_** ### Linux, macOS, Windows, *BSD, Solaris, WSL, etc. Usually, installing V is quite simple if you have an environment that already has a functional `git` installation. To get started, simply try to execute the following in your terminal/shell: ```bash git clone https://github.com/vlang/v cd v make # HINT: Using Windows? run make.bat in a cmd shell, or ./make.bat in PowerShell ``` That should be it and you should find your V executable at `[path to V repo]/v`. `[path to V repo]` can be anywhere. (As in the hint above, on Windows `make` means running `make.bat`.) Now you can try `./v run examples/hello_world.v` (or `v run examples/hello_world.v` in cmd shell). * *Trouble? Please see the note above and link to [Installation Issues](https://github.com/vlang/v/discussions/categories/installation-issues) for help.* V is constantly being updated. To update V, simply run: ```bash v up ``` > **Note** > If you run into any trouble, or you have a different operating > system or Linux distribution that doesn't install or work immediately, please see > [Installation Issues](https://github.com/vlang/v/discussions/categories/installation-issues) > and search for your OS and problem. > > If you can't find your problem, please add it to an existing discussion if one exists for > your OS, or create a new one if a main discussion doesn't yet exist for your OS. ### C compiler The [Tiny C Compiler (tcc)](https://repo.or.cz/w/tinycc.git) is downloaded for you by `make` if there is a compatible version for your system, and installed under the V `thirdparty` directory. This compiler is very fast, but does almost no optimizations. It is best for development builds. For production builds (using the `-prod` option to V), it's recommended to use clang, gcc, or Microsoft Visual C++. If you are doing development, you most likely already have one of those installed. Otherwise, follow these instructions: - [Installing a C compiler on Linux and macOS](https://github.com/vlang/v/wiki/Installing-a-C-compiler-on-Linux-and-macOS) - [Installing a C compiler on Windows](https://github.com/vlang/v/wiki/Installing-a-C-compiler-on-Windows) ### Symlinking > **Note** > It is *highly recommended*, that you put V on your PATH. That saves > you the effort to type in the full path to your v executable every time. > V provides a convenience `v symlink` command to do that more easily. On Unix systems, it creates a `/usr/local/bin/v` symlink to your executable. To do that, run: ```bash sudo ./v symlink ``` On Windows, start a new shell with administrative privileges, for example by pressing the Windows Key, then type `cmd.exe`, right-click on its menu entry, and choose `Run as administrator`. In the new administrative shell, cd to the path where you have compiled V, then type: ```bat v symlink ``` (or `./v symlink` in PowerShell) That will make V available everywhere, by adding it to your PATH. Please restart your shell/editor after that, so that it can pick up the new PATH variable. > **Note** > There is no need to run `v symlink` more than once - v will still be available, even after > `v up`, restarts, and so on. You only need to run it again if you decide to move the V repo > folder somewhere else. ### Void Linux
Expand Void Linux instructions ```bash # xbps-install -Su base-devel # xbps-install libatomic-devel $ git clone https://github.com/vlang/v $ cd v $ make ```
### Docker
Expand Docker instructions ```bash git clone https://github.com/vlang/v cd v docker build -t vlang . docker run --rm -it vlang:latest ``` ### Docker with Alpine/musl ```bash git clone https://github.com/vlang/v cd v docker build -t vlang --file=Dockerfile.alpine . docker run --rm -it vlang:latest ```
### Termux/Android On Termux, V needs some packages preinstalled - a working C compiler, also `libexecinfo`, `libgc` and `libgc-static`. After installing them, you can use the same script, like on Linux/macos: ```bash pkg install clang libexecinfo libgc libgc-static make git git clone https://github.com/vlang/v cd v make ``` ## Editor/IDE Plugins To bring IDE functions for the V programming languages to your editor, check out [v-analyzer](https://github.com/v-analyzer/v-analyzer). It provides a [VS Code extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=VOSCA.vscode-v-analyzer) and language server capabilities for other editors. The plugin for JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ, CLion, GoLand, etc.) also offers a great development experience with V. You can find all features in [its documentation](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/20287-vlang/docs/syntax-highlighting.html). Other Plugins: - [Vim plugins](https://github.com/vlang/awesome-v#vim) - [Emacs plugins](https://github.com/vlang/awesome-v#emacs) - [Sublime Text 3 plugins](https://github.com/vlang/awesome-v#sublime-text-3) - [Atom plugins](https://github.com/vlang/awesome-v#atom) ## Testing and running the examples Make sure V can compile itself: ```bash $ v self $ v V 0.3.x Use Ctrl-C or `exit` to exit >>> println('hello world') hello world >>> ``` ```bash cd examples v hello_world.v && ./hello_world # or simply v run hello_world.v # this builds the program and runs it right away v run word_counter/word_counter.v word_counter/cinderella.txt v run news_fetcher.v v run tetris/tetris.v ``` tetris screenshot In order to build Tetris or 2048 (or anything else using `sokol` or `gg` graphics modules), you will need additional development libraries for your system. | System | Installation method | |---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Debian/Ubuntu based | `sudo apt install libxi-dev libxcursor-dev libgl-dev` | | Fedora/RH/CentOS | `sudo dnf install libXcursor-devel libXi-devel libX11-devel libglvnd-devel` | | NixOS | add `xorg.libX11.dev xorg.libXcursor.dev xorg.libXi.dev libGL.dev` to `environment.systemPackages` | ## V net.http, net.websocket, `v install` The net.http module, the net.websocket module, and the `v install` command may all use SSL. V comes with a version of mbedtls, which should work on all systems. If you find a need to use OpenSSL instead, you will need to make sure that it is installed on your system, then use the `-d use_openssl` switch when you compile. To install OpenSSL on non-Windows systems: | System | Installation command | |---------------------|----------------------------------| | macOS | `brew install openssl` | | Debian/Ubuntu based | `sudo apt install libssl-dev` | | Arch/Manjaro | openssl is installed by default | | Fedora/CentOS/RH | `sudo dnf install openssl-devel` | On Windows, OpenSSL is simply hard to get working correctly. The instructions [here](https://tecadmin.net/install-openssl-on-windows/) may (or may not) help. ## V sync V's `sync` module and channel implementation uses libatomic. It is most likely already installed on your system, but if not, you can install it, by doing the following: | System | Installation command | |---------------------|-------------------------------------| | macOS | already installed | | Debian/Ubuntu based | `sudo apt install libatomic1` | | Fedora/CentOS/RH | `sudo dnf install libatomic-static` | ## V UI V UI example screenshot https://github.com/vlang/ui ## Android graphical apps With V's `vab` tool, building V UI and graphical apps for Android can become as easy as: ``` ./vab /path/to/v/examples/2048 ``` [https://github.com/vlang/vab](https://github.com/vlang/vab). vab examples screenshot ## Developing web applications Check out the [Building a simple web blog](https://github.com/vlang/v/blob/master/tutorials/building_a_simple_web_blog_with_vweb/README.md) tutorial and Gitly, a light and fast alternative to GitHub/GitLab: https://github.com/vlang/gitly gitly screenshot ## Vinix, an OS/kernel written in V V is great for writing low-level software like drivers and kernels. Vinix is an OS/kernel that already runs bash, GCC, V, and nano. https://github.com/vlang/vinix vinix screenshot 1 vinix screenshot 2 ## Acknowledgement V thanks Fabrice Bellard for his original work on the [TCC - Tiny C Compiler](https://bellard.org/tcc/). Note the TCC website is old; the current TCC repository can be found [here](https://repo.or.cz/w/tinycc.git). V utilizes pre-built TCC binaries located at [https://github.com/vlang/tccbin/](https://github.com/vlang/tccbin/). ## Troubleshooting Please see the [Troubleshooting](https://github.com/vlang/v/wiki/Troubleshooting) section on our [wiki page](https://github.com/vlang/v/wiki). 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