66 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# Cell
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Cell is an actor-based scripting language for building concurrent applications. It combines a familiar JavaScript-like syntax with the actor model of computation.
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## Key Features
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- **Actor Model** — isolated memory, message passing, no shared state
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- **Immutability** — `stone()` makes values permanently frozen
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- **Prototype Inheritance** — objects without classes
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- **C Integration** — seamlessly extend with native code
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- **Cross-Platform** — deploy to desktop, web, and embedded
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## Quick Start
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```javascript
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// hello.ce - A simple actor
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log.console("Hello, Cell!")
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$stop()
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```
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```bash
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cell hello
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```
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## Documentation
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- [**Cell Language**](cellscript.md) — syntax, types, and built-in functions
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- [**Actors and Modules**](actors.md) — the execution model
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- [**Packages**](packages.md) — code organization and sharing
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- [**Command Line**](cli.md) — the `cell` tool
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- [**Writing C Modules**](c-modules.md) — native extensions
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## Standard Library
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- [text](library/text.md) — string manipulation
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- [number](library/number.md) — numeric operations (functions are global: `floor()`, `max()`, etc.)
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- [array](library/array.md) — array utilities
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- [object](library/object.md) — object utilities
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- [blob](library/blob.md) — binary data
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- [time](library/time.md) — time and dates
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- [math](library/math.md) — trigonometry and math
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- [json](library/json.md) — JSON encoding/decoding
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- [random](library/random.md) — random numbers
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## Architecture
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Cell programs are organized into **packages**. Each package contains:
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- **Modules** (`.cm`) — return a value, cached and frozen
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- **Actors** (`.ce`) — run independently, communicate via messages
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- **C files** (`.c`) — compiled to native libraries
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Actors never share memory. They communicate by sending messages, which are automatically serialized. This makes concurrent programming safe and predictable.
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## Installation
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```bash
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# Clone and bootstrap
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git clone https://gitea.pockle.world/john/cell
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cd cell
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make bootstrap
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```
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The Cell shop is stored at `~/.cell/`. |