Bob/Reference/ROADMAP.md

Bob Language Development Roadmap

Current Status

Bob is a mature, working programming language with a modern architecture and comprehensive feature set.

✅ Core Language Features (Complete)

Data Types & Variables

• Numbers: Integers, floats, automatic conversion
• Strings: Literals, concatenation, multiplication, escape sequences
• Booleans: true, false
• None: Null value representation
• Arrays: Dynamic arrays with indexing, assignment, and built-in functions
• Dictionaries: Hash maps with string keys and mixed-type values
• Functions: First-class functions as values
• Variables: Declaration, assignment, scoping
• Assignment System: Dual system (statements + expressions for loops only)

Operators (Complete)

• Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, %, unary -
• Comparison: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=
• Logical: &&, ||, ! (with short-circuit evaluation)
• Bitwise: &, |, ^, <<, >>, ~
• Compound Assignment: +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, &=, |=, ^=, <<=, >>=
• Ternary: condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse
• Increment/Decrement: ++, -- (for array elements)

Control Flow (Complete)

• If Statements: if, else, else if chains
• While Loops: Basic, nested, complex conditions
• Do-While Loops: Basic, nested, break/continue support
• For Loops: All clause variations, nested loops
• Break/Continue: Full support in all loop types

Functions (Complete)

• Function Declaration: func name(params) { body }
• Parameters: Any number of parameters (tested up to 100)
• Return Values: Explicit and implicit returns
• Closures: Lexical scoping with variable capture
• First-Class Functions: Functions as values, parameters, return values
• Anonymous Functions: func(params) { body }
• Nested Functions: Functions defined inside other functions
• Recursion: Full support including deep recursion
• Tail Call Optimization: Trampoline-based optimization preventing stack overflow

Data Structures (Complete)

• Arrays: Full support with indexing, assignment, nested arrays
• Dictionaries: Full support with key-value pairs, nested dictionaries
• Array Operations: len(), push(), pop(), indexing, assignment, properties (length, first, last, empty)
• Dictionary Operations: keys(), values(), has(), indexing, assignment, dot notation (obj.prop)
• Mixed Types: Arrays and dictionaries can hold any value types

Standard Library (Complete)

• I/O Functions: print(), printRaw(), input()
• Type System: type(), toString(), toNumber(), toInt(), toBoolean()
• Testing: assert() with custom error messages
• Timing: time() (microsecond precision), sleep()
• Utility: rand.random() (properly seeded), eval.eval(), sys.exit()
• Data Structure: len(), push(), pop(), keys(), values(), has()
• File I/O: readFile(), writeFile(), readLines(), fileExists()

Advanced Features (Complete)

• String Operations: Bidirectional string + number concatenation
• Number Formatting: Smart significant digits handling
• Memory Management: Automatic cleanup with reference counting
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error reporting with context
• Testing Framework: Built-in assert function with 70+ comprehensive tests
• Operator Precedence: Full precedence hierarchy implementation
• Variable Shadowing: Proper lexical scoping rules
• Interactive Mode: Full REPL with error handling
• Cross-Type Comparisons: Smart equality for all types
• Copy Semantics: Value vs reference copying for different types

✅ Architecture & Infrastructure (Complete)

Modern Build System

• CMake: Cross-platform build configuration
• Ninja: High-speed build system (3.1x faster than Make)
• CTest: Integrated testing framework
• Cross-Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux support
• Performance: Optimized build times and incremental compilation

Clean Architecture

• Modular Design: Separated parsing, runtime, stdlib, and CLI
• Tier Separation: Clear boundaries between language components
• Header Organization: Organized by functional area
• Source Structure: src/headers/ and src/sources/ organization

Refactored Interpreter

• Evaluator: Expression evaluation (visitor pattern)
• Executor: Statement execution and control flow
• RuntimeDiagnostics: Utility functions and type checking
• Memory Management: Smart pointer usage throughout
• Error System: Centralized error reporting

Current Architecture Status

Bob Language
├── Parsing Layer
│   ├── Lexer (tokenization)
│   ├── Parser (AST generation)
│   └── ErrorReporter (syntax errors)
├── Runtime Layer
│   ├── Evaluator (expression visitor)
│   ├── Executor (statement visitor)
│   ├── Interpreter (orchestration)
│   ├── Environment (variable scoping)
│   ├── Value (type system)
│   └── RuntimeDiagnostics (utilities)
├── Standard Library
│   └── BobStdLib (built-in functions)
└── CLI Interface
    └── Bob (command-line interface)

Future Development Phases

Phase 1: Advanced Language Features (Medium Priority)

Exception Handling System

try {
    var result = 10 / 0;
} catch (error) {
    print("Error: " + error.message);
} finally {
    print("Cleanup");
}

Implementation Plan:

• Add try/catch/finally syntax to parser
• Implement exception objects with stack traces
• Add throw statement for custom exceptions
• Integrate with existing error system

Pattern Matching

match value {
    case 0: "zero"
    case 1 | 2: "small"
    case x if x > 10: "large"
    default: "other"
}

Implementation Plan:

• Add match/case syntax
• Implement pattern matching logic
• Support guards with if conditions
• Add destructuring for arrays/dictionaries

Phase 2: Object System (Lower Priority)

Simple Objects

var person = {
    name: "Alice",
    age: 30,
    greet: func() {
        return "Hello, I'm " + this.name;
    }
};

Implementation Plan:

• Add object literal syntax
• Implement this binding
• Support method calls
• ✅ Add property access/assignment (completed - dot notation for dictionaries and arrays)

Classes (Optional)

class Person {
    init(name, age) {
        this.name = name;
        this.age = age;
    }
    
    greet() {
        return "Hello, I'm " + this.name;
    }
}

Implementation Plan:

• Add class keyword and syntax
• Implement constructors with init()
• Support inheritance with extends
• Add method definitions

Phase 3: Module System (Lower Priority)

Simple Modules

// math.bob
func sqrt(x) { return x ** 0.5; }
func max(a, b) { return a > b ? a : b; }

// main.bob
import "math.bob" as math;
var result = math.sqrt(16);

Implementation Plan:

• Add import statement syntax
• Implement module loading from files
• Support namespace aliases
• Create standard library modules

Phase 4: Language Enhancements (Optional)

Enhanced Standard Library

// Additional string functions
var parts = "a,b,c".split(",");
var joined = ["a", "b", "c"].join("-");
var upper = "hello".toUpper();

// Math library
var result = Math.sqrt(16);
var max = Math.max(5, 10, 3);

Async/Await (Advanced)

async func fetchData() {
    var response = await http.get("api.com/data");
    return response.json();
}

Implementation Guidelines

For Each New Feature:

1. Design: Plan syntax and semantics carefully
2. Lexer: Add new tokens if needed
3. Parser: Add new expression/statement types
4. AST: Define new node types in Expression.h/Statement.h
5. Evaluator/Executor: Implement evaluation logic
6. Testing: Write tests for the new feature
7. Documentation: Update language reference

Development Approach:

• Testing: Write tests for new features
• Error Messages: Make errors helpful and clear
• Memory: Use smart pointers to avoid leaks
• Performance: Don't make things unnecessarily slow
• Code Style: Keep it readable and maintainable
• Portability: Make sure it works on different platforms

Success Metrics

What's Done ✅

• Core language syntax and semantics
• All operators and expressions
• Control flow (if, while, for, do-while)
• Functions, closures, and tail call optimization
• Arrays and dictionaries
• Standard library (25+ built-in functions)
• File I/O operations
• Interactive REPL
• Test suite with 70+ tests
• Error handling and reporting
• Memory management
• CMake + Ninja build system
• Modular architecture
• Cross-platform support
• Various optimizations

Might Add Later 📋

• Exception handling (try/catch)
• Pattern matching
• Simple objects
• Module/import system
• More built-in functions
• Debugging tools

Resources

• Language Reference - Language documentation
• Build Guide - How to build Bob
• Test Suite - 70+ tests
• Crafting Interpreters - Helpful book for language implementation

Recent Work

Architecture Cleanup (2025)

• Split the interpreter into separate components (Evaluator/Executor/RuntimeDiagnostics)
• Switched to CMake + Ninja build system (3x faster builds)
• Reorganized code into cleaner modules
• Added Windows/macOS/Linux build support

Feature Completion

• Added file I/O and type conversion functions
• Implemented all the operators I wanted (bitwise, compound assignment, etc.)
• Got arrays and dictionaries working properly
• Added tail call optimization and closures

Testing & Polish

• Wrote 70+ tests covering pretty much everything
• Improved error messages to be more helpful
• Fixed memory leaks using smart pointers
• Various performance improvements

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Bob works well for what I wanted - a programming language with the features and syntax I prefer.

Last updated: January 2025