Cookie Compiler

It all started with C++. As we were learning language, we found ourselves wondering—how do compilers like GCC and Clang actually work? That curiosity led us to a simple yet ambitious idea: why not build a compiler ourselves?

Initially, the goal was just to understand how compilers function from the ground up. But as we kept working, the project naturally evolved—not only were we building a compiler, but we were also designing a programming language. We wanted Cookie to be simple, intuitive, and easy to use, making it accessible to anyone interested in programming.

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

• LLVM: Version 19.0 or later
• Flex and Bison
• GCC / G++
• Docker (optional, but let’s be real you’ll probably end up using it anyway)

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Docker Pull & Run (Easier approach)

Install the Docker Desktop: https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

If you have Docker installed, you can compile and run Cookie without summoning the dependency demons...

Pull the Image

docker pull alphastar59/cookie:latest

Running the Container

In the same directory Open your preferred text editor and save your cookie code in the format filename.cook and run

docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd)/filename.cook":/cookie_dir/filename.cook cookie

You'll get the output of your code :)

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Repository

Clone the repository using:

git clone https://github.com/alphastar-avi/Cookie-lang.git

After cloning, make sure your PATH includes the necessary tool directories.

File Structure

Cookie-Compiler/
├── filename.cook
├── lexer.l
├── parser.y
├── ast.h
├── ast.c
├── runtime.c
├── codegen.cpp
├── Dockerfile
└── cookie_extension/        // VS Code extension folder
    ├── package.json
    ├── tsconfig.json
    ├── language-configuration.json
    ├── syntaxes/
    │   └── langli.tmLanguage.json
    ├── src/
    │   └── extension.ts
    └── out/                 (generated after compilation)

Build Instructions

For Mac & Linux

1. Build the Runtime Library:

   gcc -shared -fPIC runtime.c -o libruntime.so

2. Generate the Parser and Lexer Files:

   bison -d parser.y
   flex lexer.l

3. Compile the Source Files:

   gcc -c ast.c -o ast.o
   gcc -c parser.tab.c -o parser.tab.o
   gcc -c lex.yy.c -o lex.yy.o
   gcc -c runtime.c -o runtime.o
   g++ -c codegen.cpp -o codegen.o $(llvm-config --cxxflags)
   g++ ast.o parser.tab.o lex.yy.o codegen.o runtime.o -o cookie $(llvm-config --ldflags --libs core)

4. Run the Compiler: To compile a Cookie source file (e.g., filename.cook):

   cat filename.cook | ./cookie > output.ll
   lli -load ./libruntime.so output.ll

5. Clean Up Build Files:

   rm -f ast.o parser.tab.c parser.tab.h parser.tab.o lex.yy.c lex.yy.o codegen.o cookie output.ll libruntime.so runtime.o

For Windows

1. Build the Runtime Library:

   gcc -shared -fPIC runtime.c -o libruntime.so

2. Generate the Parser and Lexer Files:

   bison -d parser.y
   flex lexer.l

3. Compile the Source Files:

   gcc -c ast.c -o ast.o
   gcc -c parser.tab.c -o parser.tab.o
   gcc -c lex.yy.c -o lex.yy.o
   gcc -c runtime.c -o runtime.o
   g++ -c codegen.cpp -o codegen.o $(llvm-config --cxxflags)
   g++ ast.o parser.tab.o lex.yy.o codegen.o runtime.o -o cookie $(llvm-config --ldflags --libs core)

4. Run the Compiler:

   Get-Content .\filename.cook | .\cookie > output.ll
   lli -load ./libruntime.so output.ll

5. Clean Up Build Files:

   Remove-Item -Force "ast.o", "parser.tab.c", "parser.tab.h", "parser.tab.o", "lex.yy.c", "lex.yy.o", "codegen.o", "cookie.exe", "output.ll", "libruntime.so", "runtime.o"

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VS Code Extension

Cookie Extension

[ Click to download ]

Cookie also includes a VS Code extension to provide syntax highlighting, code-snippets & IntelliSense.

The repo already includes the .vsix complied package so you can install it simply by running:

code --install-extension cookie_extension-7.0.0.vsix

If you wanna develope the extension by yourself:

File Structure for the Extension

cookie_extension/
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── language-configuration.json
├── syntaxes/
│   └── langli.tmLanguage.json
├── src/
│   └── extension.ts
└── out/               (generated after compilation)

Develop the features you want

Development & Testing

1. Install Dependencies & Compile:

   cd cookie_extension
   npm install
   npm run compile

2. Launch Extension Development Host:

   code .

   • Open the project in VS Code and press F5.
   • Create or open a file with the .cook extension to test syntax highlighting, code-snippets & IntelliSense.

3. Packaging & Local Installation:

   • Package the extension:

     npm install -g @vscode/vsce
     vsce package

     This generates a .vsix file.

   • Install the extension:

     code --install-extension cookie_extension-<version>.vsix

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Syntax

Print, Input, and Inline

• print();

  Prints the evaluated value of the expression. If used as print();, it simply prints a new line.

  Example:

  print("Hello, Cookie!");
  print();  // Prints a new line.
  

• input();

  Reads input from the user. The expression may serve as a prompt or an initializer for processing the input.

  Example:

  input("Enter your name: ");
  

• inline();

  Prints the expression inline. This can be useful for immediate execution of a function or operation.

  Example:

  inline(2 + 3);
  

Comments

Cookie supports two forms of single-line comments:

• Lines beginning with //
• Lines starting with comment:

Both types are ignored by the parser.

Example:

// This is a single-line comment.
comment: This is another comment.

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Variable Declaration

Variables can be declared in two ways:

• Implicit Declaration: Using the var keyword.
• Typed Declaration: Using one of the specific data type keywords.

Examples:

var x = 10;          // Implicit declaration.
int y = 5;           // Declaration of an integer.
float pi = 3.14;     // Declaration of a floating-point number.

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Data Types

Cookie has five primary data types with auto-detection when using literals:

• int: For integer values.
• float: For floating-point numbers.
• bool: For Boolean values (true or false).
• char: For single characters, enclosed in single quotes.
• string: For sequences of characters, enclosed in double quotes.

Auto-detection & Type Conversions

• Auto-detection:

  When you assign a literal to a variable using var, like var x = 10;, Cookie automatically detects its type.

• Type Conversions:

  Explicit conversion is available using a cast-like syntax:

  • int()
  • float()
  • string()
  • char()

These allow converting between compatible types.

Example:

int a = 10;
float b = 3.14;
bool flag = true;
char letter = 'c';
string greeting = "Hello";

// Converting a string to an int.
int num = int("123");

// Converting a string to a float.
float value = float("3.14");

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Operators

Arithmetic Operators

• Addition: +
• Subtraction: -
• Multiplication: *
• Division: /

Example:

int sum = 5 + 3;

Relational Operators

• Less than: lesser than or <
• Greater than: greater than or >
• Equals: equals or ==
• Not equals: not equals or !=
• Less than or equals: lesser than equals or <=
• Greater than or equals: greater than equals or >=

Example:

if (x lesser than 10) {
  print("x is less than 10");
}

if (y >= 3.14) {
  print("y is greater than or equal to 3.14");
}

Logical Operators

• And: and or &&
• Or: or or ||
• Not: not or !

Example:

if (flag and (x equals 5)) {
  print("Condition met!");
}

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Control Structures

Simple If

Executes a block if the condition is true.

Syntax:

if(condition) {
    // statements
}

Example:

if (x > 0) {
    print("Positive number");
}

If Else

Provides an alternative block if the condition is false.

Syntax:

if (condition) {
    // if true
} else {
    // if false
}

Example:

if (x > 0) {
    print("Positive number");
} else {
    print("Zero or Negative");
}

Else If Ladder

Chains multiple conditions.

Syntax:

if (condition) {
    //statements
} else if (condition) {
    //statements
} else {
    //statements
}

Example:

if (x > 0) {
    print("Positive");
} else if (x < 0) {
    print("Negative");
} else {
    print("Zero");
}

Switch Case

Evaluates an expression and executes code based on matching cases.

Syntax:

switch (expression) {
    case: value1
        // statements
    case: value2
        // statements
    default:
        // statements
}

Example:

switch (x) {
    case: 1
        print("One");
    case: 2
        print("Two");
    default:
        print("Other");
}

Break Statement in Switch Case

Used to exit a switch-case block prematurely.

Example:

switch (x) {
    case: 1
        print("One");
        break;
    // further cases...
}

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Arrays

Arrays are ordered collections of elements. In Cookie, arrays are declared with a specified type and support a built-in size function.

• Declaration without initializer:

  Specify the type, identifier, and size expression in brackets.

  Example:

  int numbers[10];
  

• Declaration with initializer:

  Use curly braces {} to list the elements.

  Example:

  int numbers[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
  

Note: Array indexing in Cookie starts at 1 (i.e. the first element is at index 1).

• Size Function:

  Use size(array) to get the number of elements.

  Example:

  int len = size(numbers);
  

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Loops

Cookie supports various loop constructs for fixed iteration, range-based traversal, and condition-based looping.

Fixed Iteration Loop

Executes a block a fixed number of times.

Syntax:

loop range {
    // statements
}

Example:

loop 5 {
    print("Iteration");
}

Range-based Loop

The loop starts with the value of the identifier (if its been assigned already, if not, its automatically assigned 1), and goes on till the given numeric value.

Syntax:

loop identifier : range {
    // statements
}

Example:

loop i : numbers {
    print(i);
}

Array-Based Loop

The identifier takes on each value of the array sequentially.

Syntax:

loop identifier : array {
    // statements
}

Example:

var numbers = [10, 20, 30];

loop num : numbers {
    print(num);
}

Loop with Starting Index

You can start iterating from a specified index by predefining a variable (e.g., i). This is useful for skipping initial elements.

Example:

int i = 2;
loop i : numbers {
    print(i);
}

In this example, iteration begins from the 2nd element of the array.

Loop Until

Repeats the loop until the specified condition becomes true.

Syntax:

loop until (condition) {
    // statements
}

Example:

int x = 0;
loop until (x equals 10) {
    x = x + 1;
    print(x);
}

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8. Functions

Functions in Cookie are defined using the fun keyword. They can either print a value directly or return a value for further use.

Syntax:

fun functionName(parameter_list) {  // Multi-parameter also works
    // function body
    return statement;  // Optional, if a value is to be returned.
}

Examples:

• Function That Prints a Value:

  fun greet(name) {
      print("Hello, " + name);
  }
  

• Function That Returns a Value:

  fun add(a, b) {
      return (a + b);
  }
  

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We welcome all feature requests and bug reports, so feel free to open an issue.

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