LLVM-based AOT native compiler implementation of santa-lang, written in Rust.
santa-lang is a functional, expression-oriented programming language designed for solving Advent of Code puzzles. This implementation compiles to native executables via LLVM, with type inference enabling specialization for native operations.
Key language features:
- First-class functions and closures with tail-call optimization
- Pipeline and composition operators for expressive data flow
- Persistent immutable data structures
- Lazy sequences and infinite ranges
- Pattern matching with guards
- Rich built-in function library
- AoC runner with automatic input fetching
Source Code → Lexer → Parser → Type Inference → Codegen → LLVM → Native Binary
↓
Runtime Library (FFI)
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Lexer | Tokenizes source into keywords, operators, literals |
| Parser | Builds an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) using Pratt parser |
| Type Inference | Infers and specializes types for native operations |
| Codegen | Generates LLVM IR using inkwell |
| LLVM | Compiles IR to native machine code (AOT) |
| Runtime | FFI library for type-aware operations and collections |
For detailed implementation internals, see ARCHITECTURE.md.
docker pull ghcr.io/eddmann/santa-lang-dasher:cli-latest
docker run --rm ghcr.io/eddmann/santa-lang-dasher:cli-latest --helpDownload pre-built binaries from GitHub Releases:
| Platform | Artifact |
|---|---|
| Linux (x86_64) | santa-lang-dasher-cli-{version}-linux-amd64 |
| Linux (ARM64) | santa-lang-dasher-cli-{version}-linux-arm64 |
| macOS (Intel) | santa-lang-dasher-cli-{version}-macos-amd64 |
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | santa-lang-dasher-cli-{version}-macos-arm64 |
# Run a solution
santa-cli solution.santa
# Run tests defined in a solution
santa-cli -t solution.santa
# Include slow tests (marked with @slow)
santa-cli -t -s solution.santa
# Evaluate inline code
santa-cli -e '1 + 2'
# Read from stdin
echo 'puts(42)' | santa-cli
# Compile to standalone executable
santa-cli -c solution.santa
./solutionHere's a complete Advent of Code solution (2015 Day 1):
input: read("aoc://2015/1")
part_one: {
input |> fold(0) |floor, direction| {
if direction == "(" { floor + 1 } else { floor - 1 };
}
}
part_two: {
zip(1.., input) |> fold(0) |floor, [index, direction]| {
let next_floor = if direction == "(" { floor + 1 } else { floor - 1 };
if next_floor < 0 { break index } else { next_floor };
}
}
test: {
input: "()())"
part_one: -1
part_two: 5
}
Key language features shown:
input:/part_one:/part_two:- AoC runner sections|>- Pipeline operator (thread value through functions)fold- Reduce with early exit support viabreaktest:- Inline test cases with expected values
Requires Rust 1.85+ and LLVM 18:
# Build CLI (debug)
make build
# Build CLI (release)
make release
# Run tests
make test
# Run linting
make lintRun make help to see all available targets:
make help # Show all targets
make can-release # Run all CI checks (lint + test)
make lint # Run rustfmt and clippy checks
make test # Run all tests
make fmt # Format code
make bench # Run Criterion benchmarks
make install # Install to ~/.cargo/bin├── lang/ # Core compiler library
│ └── src/
│ ├── lexer/ # Tokenization
│ ├── parser/ # AST construction (Pratt parser)
│ ├── types/ # Type inference
│ ├── codegen/ # LLVM IR generation
│ └── runner/ # AoC solution runner
├── runtime/ # FFI runtime library
│ └── src/
│ ├── value.rs # NaN-boxed value representation
│ ├── heap.rs # Heap object types
│ ├── operations.rs # Type-aware dispatch
│ └── builtins.rs # 80+ built-in functions
├── cli/ # Command-line interface
└── benchmarks/ # Performance benchmarks
The language has been implemented multiple times to explore different execution models and technologies.
| Codename | Type | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Comet | Tree-walking interpreter | Rust |
| Blitzen | Bytecode VM | Rust |
| Dasher | LLVM native compiler | Rust |
| Donner | JVM bytecode compiler | Kotlin |
| Vixen | Embedded bytecode VM | C |
| Prancer | Tree-walking interpreter | TypeScript |
| Name | Description | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Workbench | Desktop IDE | Tauri/React |
| Tinsel | Code formatter | Zig |
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.