docs: replace stale root README with the woc/wovm front door
- README.md now IS the getting-started page (moved from docs/writeonce.md; single source, no duplication): current woc -> .wob -> wovm toolchain, system requirements, build, hello- world, language + stdlib, embedded database, samples, roadmap - deletes the old README's Rust `wo` runtime pitch (cargo run, axum REST, Postgres mirror, blog/ecommerce) — that runtime is not advancing and no longer the project's front door - content unchanged from the verified doc (hello-world + switch compiled live before the prior commit) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
parent
0cf2d1dc14
commit
1fd6306bc5
2 changed files with 296 additions and 373 deletions
346
README.md
346
README.md
|
|
@ -1,77 +1,323 @@
|
|||
# writeonce
|
||||
|
||||
A declarative full-stack programming language. You write `.wo` files; the runtime compiles them into a binary that owns the database, serves REST, and pushes live subscriptions — no external database, no external web server, no frontend framework.
|
||||
**A small compiled language with a database built in.** You write `.wo`
|
||||
files; one command turns them into a single native binary that carries its
|
||||
own storage engine — a typed, WAL-durable, crash-recoverable database — with
|
||||
no server to install, no ORM, and no query strings. Tables are just classes,
|
||||
queries are written in the language and checked by the compiler, and the whole
|
||||
program ships as one file that depends only on the system C library.
|
||||
|
||||
Think **Go + Postgres + `net/http` + Phoenix LiveView, folded into one language and one binary.**
|
||||
> **Status: early, honest.** Everything documented on this page compiles and
|
||||
> runs today and is exercised by the acceptance tests in this repository.
|
||||
> Features that are planned but **not yet available** are listed separately
|
||||
> under [Roadmap](#roadmap) — they are not described as if they work. Nothing
|
||||
> here is API-stable yet.
|
||||
|
||||
# persistant database
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
- reads and writes database to RAM, persist data to postgres SQL.
|
||||
- The entire database lives in RAM; every committed write is mirrored to PostgreSQL **as a backup** — asynchronously, behind the runtime's own WAL, never in the read or ack path. Set `WO_PG=postgres://user@host:5432/db` and every type's rows appear as a Postgres table (named by its `@table(name: ...)` annotation) that you can query with plain `psql`. Plan and phases: [`docs/plan/16-postgres-mirror.md`](docs/plan/16-postgres-mirror.md); try it: `just pricing-pg-demo`.
|
||||
## Why writeonce
|
||||
|
||||
## Quickstart
|
||||
- **The database is part of the language.** A `class` marked `@table` *is* a
|
||||
table. Its rows persist through a write-ahead log, survive a restart, and are
|
||||
reached by navigating typed relations — not by assembling SQL text.
|
||||
- **Queries are compiled, not interpreted.** `from e in Employee where
|
||||
e.salary > 90000 select e` lowers to bytecode loops over the engine. A
|
||||
mistyped field name is a **compile error**, not a runtime surprise. There is
|
||||
no SQL string anywhere in the shipped binary.
|
||||
- **One binary, no runtime dependencies.** `woc .` produces a self-contained
|
||||
executable (~100 KB for the sample programs) that links only libc. Copy it to
|
||||
a server and run it.
|
||||
- **Small on purpose.** No FFI, no package manager, no framework. The standard
|
||||
library is a handful of OS modules. The language is designed to be read.
|
||||
|
||||
writeonce is **not** a web framework and does not (yet) serve HTTP, WebSockets,
|
||||
or a UI. It is a systems language whose distinguishing feature is the embedded
|
||||
database. If you have seen an older "writeonce" that served REST from `cargo
|
||||
run`, that was a separate, earlier runtime; this page documents the current
|
||||
`woc`/`wovm` toolchain.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## System requirements
|
||||
|
||||
**To run a compiled writeonce program:**
|
||||
|
||||
- Linux on x86-64. The produced binary is a native executable that links only
|
||||
the system C library (`libc`); nothing else is required at runtime.
|
||||
|
||||
**To build programs from source (the toolchain), you need:**
|
||||
|
||||
| Tool | Version tested | Purpose |
|
||||
| --- | --- | --- |
|
||||
| OCaml | 4.14+ | builds `woc`, the compiler front end |
|
||||
| dune | 3.14+ | OCaml build driver |
|
||||
| A C11 compiler | gcc 13 / clang | builds `wovm`, the runtime VM |
|
||||
| just | 1.x | task runner for the build/test recipes |
|
||||
| make | any | drives the runtime build |
|
||||
|
||||
Other POSIX platforms (macOS, BSD) are untested. The toolchain itself has no
|
||||
network or package-download step — it builds entirely from the checked-in
|
||||
source.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Getting the toolchain
|
||||
|
||||
Two artifacts make up the toolchain:
|
||||
|
||||
- **`woc`** — the compiler (OCaml). Reads `.wo` source, type-checks it, runs
|
||||
the ownership pass, and emits a `.wob` image or a standalone binary.
|
||||
- **`wovm`** — the runtime (C11). Loads a `.wob` image and executes it. When
|
||||
`woc` builds a standalone binary, it embeds the image into a copy of `wovm`.
|
||||
|
||||
Build both from the repository root:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
git clone https://github.com/shoneyJ/writeonce
|
||||
cd writeonce
|
||||
cargo run --bin wo -- run docs/examples/blog # serve the sample blog on :8080
|
||||
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/articles # it's a real REST API now
|
||||
just woc-build # builds compiler/_build/default/bin/woc
|
||||
just wovm-build # builds runtime/wovm
|
||||
|
||||
# gate them (optional but recommended)
|
||||
just woc-test # compiler unit + golden suites
|
||||
just wovm-test # runtime unit suites, both dispatch flavors, ASan-clean
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
See [`.dev/reference/rest/blog.rest`](.dev/reference/rest/blog.rest) for a preconfigured HTTP-request file that drives the whole sample — open it in VS Code (with the REST Client extension) or JetBrains and click "Send Request" on each block.
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## What this repository contains
|
||||
## Your first program
|
||||
|
||||
| Path | What it is |
|
||||
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
|
||||
| [`crates/rt/`](crates/rt/) | The new `.wo` language runtime — lexer, type-DSL parser, in-memory engine, axum REST server. Produces the `wo` binary. |
|
||||
| [`crates/{ql,value,engine,txn,db,wal,sub,http,gen,policy,logic,service,ui,app}/`](crates/) | 14 empty placeholder crates scaffolded for Phases 2–6. Real code extracts from `rt/` as each phase activates. |
|
||||
| [`docs/runtime/wo-language.md`](docs/runtime/wo-language.md) | **Start here.** The language overview: toolchain, hello-world, stdlib, client model. |
|
||||
| [`docs/runtime/database.md`](docs/runtime/database.md) | The 7-phase engineering series that drives the runtime's design. |
|
||||
| [`docs/examples/blog/`](docs/examples/blog/) | Sample `.wo` project: blog with articles, authors, tags, comments. ~200 lines. |
|
||||
| [`docs/examples/ecommerce/`](docs/examples/ecommerce/) | Sample `.wo` project: storefront + live order-ops table + cross-paradigm checkout. ~300 lines. |
|
||||
| [`prototypes/wo-db/`](prototypes/wo-db/) | C++ prototype of the query-layer engine (SQL + Cypher + document paths, `RETURNING` aliases, `LIVE` stub). ~2k lines, smoke tests pass. Reference implementation the Rust port follows. |
|
||||
| [`.dev/reference/rest/`](.dev/reference/rest/) | `.rest` files (VS Code REST Client / JetBrains HTTP format) for manually testing the running prototype. |
|
||||
| [`.dev/reference/crates/`](.dev/reference/crates/) | The v1 writeonce blog — 13 Rust crates implementing the original `.seg` + sidecar-index storage engine and `.htmlx` templating. Preserved as a nested workspace; see [`.dev/reference/README.md`](.dev/reference/README.md). |
|
||||
A writeonce project is a directory with a `wo.toml` manifest and one or more
|
||||
`.wo` files. Every program has an entry point:
|
||||
|
||||
## Current stage
|
||||
```
|
||||
-- hello/main.wo
|
||||
fn main(args: multi Text) -> Int {
|
||||
print("hello, writeonce");
|
||||
return 0;
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
The runtime is under active development. Each stage lands as an independently shippable cut:
|
||||
```toml
|
||||
# hello/wo.toml
|
||||
name = "hello"
|
||||
version = "0.1.0"
|
||||
|
||||
| Stage | What works | Status |
|
||||
| ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
|
||||
| **1** | `wo run <dir>` discovers every `.wo` file under a directory | ✅ shipped |
|
||||
| **2** | Type-DSL parser, in-memory engine, REST CRUD (`list` / `get` / `create` / `update` / `delete`) generated from `service rest` blocks, JSON bodies with auto-id, default-value seeding, partial-update PATCH | ✅ shipped — `cargo run -- run docs/examples/blog` |
|
||||
| **3** | LIVE subscriptions over WebSocket, delta frames on commit, `me` / session layer | pending |
|
||||
| **4+** | Transactional fns (`fn checkout in txn snapshot`), row-level policies, type-attached triggers, `##ui` SSR, WAL durability, codegen | see [docs/runtime/database.md](docs/runtime/database.md) |
|
||||
[runtime]
|
||||
wo = ">= 0.1"
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
`cargo test --lib` at the root runs 14 unit tests covering the lexer, parser, compiler, and engine. Stage-3 endpoints respond `501 Not Implemented` until they land.
|
||||
|
||||
## Build & test
|
||||
Compile the directory into a single binary and run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
cargo build # builds all 15 crates (only `rt` has real code)
|
||||
cargo test --lib # 14 unit tests
|
||||
|
||||
cargo run --bin wo -- run docs/examples/blog # serve the blog sample
|
||||
cargo run --bin wo -- run docs/examples/ecommerce # serve the ecommerce sample
|
||||
|
||||
# Override the listen address
|
||||
WO_LISTEN=127.0.0.1:9000 cargo run --bin wo -- run docs/examples/blog
|
||||
woc hello/ # produces hello/target/hello
|
||||
./hello/target/hello
|
||||
# hello, writeonce
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
## The v1 codebase (reference)
|
||||
`main` returns an `Int` — that value is the process **exit code**. `args` is
|
||||
the command-line arguments (the program name is not included).
|
||||
|
||||
The original writeonce blog engine — 13 crates, flat-file `.seg` storage, sidecar indexes, `.htmlx` templates, hand-rolled `epoll` event loop — moved to [`.dev/reference/crates/`](.dev/reference/crates/) when the new runtime was scaffolded. It's a nested Cargo workspace:
|
||||
### The two build paths
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
cd .dev/reference/crates
|
||||
cargo build # all 13 v1 crates still compile
|
||||
cargo test # 12 unit tests, 1 ignored integration test
|
||||
# 1. standalone binary (what you ship): woc reads wo.toml, emits target/<name>
|
||||
woc myproject/
|
||||
|
||||
# 2. image + VM (handy while developing): emit a .wob, run it with wovm
|
||||
woc --emit myproject/ -o app.wob
|
||||
wovm app.wob arg1 arg2
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
V1 crates keep the `wo-` prefix (`wo-seg`, `wo-store`, …). The new runtime crates dropped it (`ql`, `value`, `engine`, …). [`docs/runtime/database/07-wo-seg-migration.md`](docs/runtime/database/07-wo-seg-migration.md) is the phased coexistence plan for replacing v1 with the new runtime — abstract behind a trait, dual-write, cut over, decommission.
|
||||
Both paths run the same program. The standalone binary is the release artifact;
|
||||
the image path lets you inspect or move the image around.
|
||||
|
||||
## License & status
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
Work in progress. Nothing here is stable. Read the language overview in [`docs/runtime/wo-language.md`](docs/runtime/wo-language.md) if you want to know the shape; read the phase docs if you want to see the engineering plan; look in [`docs/examples/`](docs/examples/) if you want to see what the end product feels like.
|
||||
## Language at a glance
|
||||
|
||||
writeonce is statically typed with a compile-time ownership model — every value
|
||||
has a known owner, memory is freed deterministically, and values that form
|
||||
cycles are collected by an inferred garbage collector (you never annotate GC-
|
||||
ness; the compiler infers it). The surface will look familiar:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Types:** `Int`, `Text`, `Bool`, and user `class` types. `?T` marks an
|
||||
optional (nullable) value; `nil` is the empty case.
|
||||
- **Containers:** `multi T` (a growable list) and `map<K, V>`. Literals:
|
||||
`[]`, `[a, b]`, `{}`.
|
||||
- **Classes & records:** classes with fields and methods, `static const` /
|
||||
`static fn` members, module-scoped across files.
|
||||
- **Control flow:** `if`/`else`, `for x in xs`, `for k, v in m`, `switch`
|
||||
expressions, and `try { … } catch (e) { … }` (also an expression form).
|
||||
- **Strings:** interpolation with `${expr}` inside a `"…"` literal.
|
||||
- **Functions:** free functions and methods; arguments and returns are typed.
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
fn classify(n: Int) -> Text {
|
||||
if n < 0 { return "negative"; }
|
||||
return switch n {
|
||||
case 0: "zero";
|
||||
default: "positive";
|
||||
};
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Standard library
|
||||
|
||||
A compact set of OS modules, reached by their reserved names — no imports:
|
||||
|
||||
| Module | What it does |
|
||||
| --- | --- |
|
||||
| `fs` | `exists`, `list`, `stat`, `read_all`, `read_at`, `append` |
|
||||
| `time` | `sleep`, `now`, `local`, `iso` |
|
||||
| `env` | `get`, `stopping` (a cooperative shutdown flag) |
|
||||
| `net` | TCP `listen` / `accept` / `read` / `write` / `close` (host + port) |
|
||||
| `proc` | `run` a child process, capture stdout/stderr/exit |
|
||||
| `json` | `encode` / `decode` (`json.decode(t) as T` yields `?T`) |
|
||||
|
||||
These are deliberately minimal — the surface a real program needs, and no more.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## The database
|
||||
|
||||
This is the point of the language. Declaring storage is declaring a class:
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
@table(name: "departments", index: [name])
|
||||
class Department {
|
||||
name: Text @unique
|
||||
staff: backlink Employee.dept -- reverse relation, not a stored column
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
@table(name: "employees", index: [dept], index: [dept, salary])
|
||||
class Employee {
|
||||
name: Text
|
||||
salary: Int
|
||||
hired: Int
|
||||
dept: ref Department -- foreign key: stored as the row id
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
- **`@table`** makes a class persistent — named storage plus declared secondary
|
||||
indexes. Every instance you `insert` is written to a write-ahead log **before**
|
||||
it is acknowledged, so an acked write survives a crash; on the next start the
|
||||
log is replayed.
|
||||
- **`ref T`** is a typed foreign key (a forward relation). **`backlink T.f`** is
|
||||
its inverse — a virtual field, no stored column, resolved by an index scan.
|
||||
- **`@unique`** enforces uniqueness at insert/update; a violation is a
|
||||
**catchable** trap.
|
||||
- **Foreign keys restrict deletes**: deleting a row that another row still
|
||||
references traps rather than orphaning it.
|
||||
|
||||
### Writing and reading data
|
||||
|
||||
Mutation is direct; queries are a comprehension the compiler lowers to engine
|
||||
operations:
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
-- insert (WAL-durable); @unique makes a re-insert trap, and try/catch it:
|
||||
let eng = try insert Department { name: "Engineering" } catch (e) nil;
|
||||
insert Employee { name: "Asha", salary: 9200000, hired: 1704067200000, dept: eng };
|
||||
|
||||
-- query: filter, order, limit, project — checked at compile time
|
||||
for e in from s in Employee where s.salary > 8000000 order by s.salary desc select s {
|
||||
print("${e.name} ${e.salary} (${e.dept.name})"); -- ref navigation
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
-- navigate a backlink (the department's staff), update through the result
|
||||
for e in from s in dept.staff select s {
|
||||
e.salary = e.salary + e.salary * 5 / 100; -- update-through-row
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
-- delete (restricted if still referenced)
|
||||
let ok = try delete row catch (e) nil;
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
The query surface available today is **`from v in <table | relation> where …
|
||||
[order by k [desc]] [take n] select v | v.field`**, plus `insert`, delete, and
|
||||
update-through-a-row. It is proven end to end by the `employee` sample, whose
|
||||
data survives a process restart via log replay.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Project layout & the manifest
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
myproject/
|
||||
├── wo.toml # manifest: name, version, [runtime], [build]
|
||||
├── main.wo # entry point (fn main)
|
||||
├── types.wo # your @table classes, other types
|
||||
└── target/ # build output (the standalone binary lands here)
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
```toml
|
||||
name = "myproject"
|
||||
version = "0.1.0"
|
||||
|
||||
[runtime]
|
||||
wo = ">= 0.1"
|
||||
|
||||
[build]
|
||||
runtime = "../../../runtime/wovm" # path to the wovm the binary is built from
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
`woc myproject/` compiles every `.wo` file under the directory as one program.
|
||||
|
||||
Programs that create tables read their data directory from the `WO_DATA`
|
||||
environment variable at run time:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
WO_DATA=./data ./target/myproject seed
|
||||
WO_DATA=./data ./target/myproject report # a fresh process still sees the data
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Worked examples
|
||||
|
||||
Two complete sample programs live in the repository and double as the language's
|
||||
acceptance tests:
|
||||
|
||||
- **`docs/examples/employee/`** — departments and employees related by
|
||||
`ref`/`backlink`, `@unique`, foreign-key restrict on delete, per-department
|
||||
reports, and persistence across a restart. Run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
just employee # compile + run every mode against a durable database
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
- **`docs/examples/log-watcher/`** — a long-running daemon that watches log
|
||||
files for silent death, using the `fs`/`time`/`net`/`proc` stdlib. Run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
just log-watcher
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
Read either program's `main.wo` for idiomatic, working writeonce.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Roadmap
|
||||
|
||||
Planned, **not yet available** — listed so the shipped surface above stays
|
||||
honest. These exist as design iterations and/or work-in-progress branches, not
|
||||
as features you can use today:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Query aggregates** — `group … by … into g` with `count`/`avg`/`min`/`max`
|
||||
and projection records. (Today the same result is written by hand from the
|
||||
shipped primitives.)
|
||||
- **HTTP service layer** — `service` blocks that route requests to methods.
|
||||
- **Concurrency** — a shard-actor runtime and green-threaded fibers.
|
||||
- **Cross-program database access** — one program attaching to another's
|
||||
database over a local channel, with keypair authentication and per-client
|
||||
rights.
|
||||
- **Blue-green deployment** — in-process recompile and atomic version switch.
|
||||
- **Compile-time metaprogramming** — `@derive(Json/Csv/Eq/…)` generated from a
|
||||
class's own metadata, no reflection.
|
||||
|
||||
Known current limits worth naming: `net` is TCP host+port only; `proc.run` has
|
||||
no timeout or signal control; there is no stdin/stdout byte I/O and no FFI.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
*writeonce is a work in progress. Interfaces will change. If you build
|
||||
something with it, pin to a commit.*
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,323 +0,0 @@
|
|||
# writeonce
|
||||
|
||||
**A small compiled language with a database built in.** You write `.wo`
|
||||
files; one command turns them into a single native binary that carries its
|
||||
own storage engine — a typed, WAL-durable, crash-recoverable database — with
|
||||
no server to install, no ORM, and no query strings. Tables are just classes,
|
||||
queries are written in the language and checked by the compiler, and the whole
|
||||
program ships as one file that depends only on the system C library.
|
||||
|
||||
> **Status: early, honest.** Everything documented on this page compiles and
|
||||
> runs today and is exercised by the acceptance tests in this repository.
|
||||
> Features that are planned but **not yet available** are listed separately
|
||||
> under [Roadmap](#roadmap) — they are not described as if they work. Nothing
|
||||
> here is API-stable yet.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Why writeonce
|
||||
|
||||
- **The database is part of the language.** A `class` marked `@table` *is* a
|
||||
table. Its rows persist through a write-ahead log, survive a restart, and are
|
||||
reached by navigating typed relations — not by assembling SQL text.
|
||||
- **Queries are compiled, not interpreted.** `from e in Employee where
|
||||
e.salary > 90000 select e` lowers to bytecode loops over the engine. A
|
||||
mistyped field name is a **compile error**, not a runtime surprise. There is
|
||||
no SQL string anywhere in the shipped binary.
|
||||
- **One binary, no runtime dependencies.** `woc .` produces a self-contained
|
||||
executable (~100 KB for the sample programs) that links only libc. Copy it to
|
||||
a server and run it.
|
||||
- **Small on purpose.** No FFI, no package manager, no framework. The standard
|
||||
library is a handful of OS modules. The language is designed to be read.
|
||||
|
||||
writeonce is **not** a web framework and does not (yet) serve HTTP, WebSockets,
|
||||
or a UI. It is a systems language whose distinguishing feature is the embedded
|
||||
database. If you have seen an older "writeonce" that served REST from `cargo
|
||||
run`, that was a separate, earlier runtime; this page documents the current
|
||||
`woc`/`wovm` toolchain.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## System requirements
|
||||
|
||||
**To run a compiled writeonce program:**
|
||||
|
||||
- Linux on x86-64. The produced binary is a native executable that links only
|
||||
the system C library (`libc`); nothing else is required at runtime.
|
||||
|
||||
**To build programs from source (the toolchain), you need:**
|
||||
|
||||
| Tool | Version tested | Purpose |
|
||||
| --- | --- | --- |
|
||||
| OCaml | 4.14+ | builds `woc`, the compiler front end |
|
||||
| dune | 3.14+ | OCaml build driver |
|
||||
| A C11 compiler | gcc 13 / clang | builds `wovm`, the runtime VM |
|
||||
| just | 1.x | task runner for the build/test recipes |
|
||||
| make | any | drives the runtime build |
|
||||
|
||||
Other POSIX platforms (macOS, BSD) are untested. The toolchain itself has no
|
||||
network or package-download step — it builds entirely from the checked-in
|
||||
source.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Getting the toolchain
|
||||
|
||||
Two artifacts make up the toolchain:
|
||||
|
||||
- **`woc`** — the compiler (OCaml). Reads `.wo` source, type-checks it, runs
|
||||
the ownership pass, and emits a `.wob` image or a standalone binary.
|
||||
- **`wovm`** — the runtime (C11). Loads a `.wob` image and executes it. When
|
||||
`woc` builds a standalone binary, it embeds the image into a copy of `wovm`.
|
||||
|
||||
Build both from the repository root:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
just woc-build # builds compiler/_build/default/bin/woc
|
||||
just wovm-build # builds runtime/wovm
|
||||
|
||||
# gate them (optional but recommended)
|
||||
just woc-test # compiler unit + golden suites
|
||||
just wovm-test # runtime unit suites, both dispatch flavors, ASan-clean
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Your first program
|
||||
|
||||
A writeonce project is a directory with a `wo.toml` manifest and one or more
|
||||
`.wo` files. Every program has an entry point:
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
-- hello/main.wo
|
||||
fn main(args: multi Text) -> Int {
|
||||
print("hello, writeonce");
|
||||
return 0;
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
```toml
|
||||
# hello/wo.toml
|
||||
name = "hello"
|
||||
version = "0.1.0"
|
||||
|
||||
[runtime]
|
||||
wo = ">= 0.1"
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
Compile the directory into a single binary and run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
woc hello/ # produces hello/target/hello
|
||||
./hello/target/hello
|
||||
# hello, writeonce
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
`main` returns an `Int` — that value is the process **exit code**. `args` is
|
||||
the command-line arguments (the program name is not included).
|
||||
|
||||
### The two build paths
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
# 1. standalone binary (what you ship): woc reads wo.toml, emits target/<name>
|
||||
woc myproject/
|
||||
|
||||
# 2. image + VM (handy while developing): emit a .wob, run it with wovm
|
||||
woc --emit myproject/ -o app.wob
|
||||
wovm app.wob arg1 arg2
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
Both paths run the same program. The standalone binary is the release artifact;
|
||||
the image path lets you inspect or move the image around.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Language at a glance
|
||||
|
||||
writeonce is statically typed with a compile-time ownership model — every value
|
||||
has a known owner, memory is freed deterministically, and values that form
|
||||
cycles are collected by an inferred garbage collector (you never annotate GC-
|
||||
ness; the compiler infers it). The surface will look familiar:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Types:** `Int`, `Text`, `Bool`, and user `class` types. `?T` marks an
|
||||
optional (nullable) value; `nil` is the empty case.
|
||||
- **Containers:** `multi T` (a growable list) and `map<K, V>`. Literals:
|
||||
`[]`, `[a, b]`, `{}`.
|
||||
- **Classes & records:** classes with fields and methods, `static const` /
|
||||
`static fn` members, module-scoped across files.
|
||||
- **Control flow:** `if`/`else`, `for x in xs`, `for k, v in m`, `switch`
|
||||
expressions, and `try { … } catch (e) { … }` (also an expression form).
|
||||
- **Strings:** interpolation with `${expr}` inside a `"…"` literal.
|
||||
- **Functions:** free functions and methods; arguments and returns are typed.
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
fn classify(n: Int) -> Text {
|
||||
if n < 0 { return "negative"; }
|
||||
return switch n {
|
||||
case 0: "zero";
|
||||
default: "positive";
|
||||
};
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
### Standard library
|
||||
|
||||
A compact set of OS modules, reached by their reserved names — no imports:
|
||||
|
||||
| Module | What it does |
|
||||
| --- | --- |
|
||||
| `fs` | `exists`, `list`, `stat`, `read_all`, `read_at`, `append` |
|
||||
| `time` | `sleep`, `now`, `local`, `iso` |
|
||||
| `env` | `get`, `stopping` (a cooperative shutdown flag) |
|
||||
| `net` | TCP `listen` / `accept` / `read` / `write` / `close` (host + port) |
|
||||
| `proc` | `run` a child process, capture stdout/stderr/exit |
|
||||
| `json` | `encode` / `decode` (`json.decode(t) as T` yields `?T`) |
|
||||
|
||||
These are deliberately minimal — the surface a real program needs, and no more.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## The database
|
||||
|
||||
This is the point of the language. Declaring storage is declaring a class:
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
@table(name: "departments", index: [name])
|
||||
class Department {
|
||||
name: Text @unique
|
||||
staff: backlink Employee.dept -- reverse relation, not a stored column
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
@table(name: "employees", index: [dept], index: [dept, salary])
|
||||
class Employee {
|
||||
name: Text
|
||||
salary: Int
|
||||
hired: Int
|
||||
dept: ref Department -- foreign key: stored as the row id
|
||||
}
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
- **`@table`** makes a class persistent — named storage plus declared secondary
|
||||
indexes. Every instance you `insert` is written to a write-ahead log **before**
|
||||
it is acknowledged, so an acked write survives a crash; on the next start the
|
||||
log is replayed.
|
||||
- **`ref T`** is a typed foreign key (a forward relation). **`backlink T.f`** is
|
||||
its inverse — a virtual field, no stored column, resolved by an index scan.
|
||||
- **`@unique`** enforces uniqueness at insert/update; a violation is a
|
||||
**catchable** trap.
|
||||
- **Foreign keys restrict deletes**: deleting a row that another row still
|
||||
references traps rather than orphaning it.
|
||||
|
||||
### Writing and reading data
|
||||
|
||||
Mutation is direct; queries are a comprehension the compiler lowers to engine
|
||||
operations:
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
-- insert (WAL-durable); @unique makes a re-insert trap, and try/catch it:
|
||||
let eng = try insert Department { name: "Engineering" } catch (e) nil;
|
||||
insert Employee { name: "Asha", salary: 9200000, hired: 1704067200000, dept: eng };
|
||||
|
||||
-- query: filter, order, limit, project — checked at compile time
|
||||
for e in from s in Employee where s.salary > 8000000 order by s.salary desc select s {
|
||||
print("${e.name} ${e.salary} (${e.dept.name})"); -- ref navigation
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
-- navigate a backlink (the department's staff), update through the result
|
||||
for e in from s in dept.staff select s {
|
||||
e.salary = e.salary + e.salary * 5 / 100; -- update-through-row
|
||||
}
|
||||
|
||||
-- delete (restricted if still referenced)
|
||||
let ok = try delete row catch (e) nil;
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
The query surface available today is **`from v in <table | relation> where …
|
||||
[order by k [desc]] [take n] select v | v.field`**, plus `insert`, delete, and
|
||||
update-through-a-row. It is proven end to end by the `employee` sample, whose
|
||||
data survives a process restart via log replay.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Project layout & the manifest
|
||||
|
||||
```
|
||||
myproject/
|
||||
├── wo.toml # manifest: name, version, [runtime], [build]
|
||||
├── main.wo # entry point (fn main)
|
||||
├── types.wo # your @table classes, other types
|
||||
└── target/ # build output (the standalone binary lands here)
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
```toml
|
||||
name = "myproject"
|
||||
version = "0.1.0"
|
||||
|
||||
[runtime]
|
||||
wo = ">= 0.1"
|
||||
|
||||
[build]
|
||||
runtime = "../../../runtime/wovm" # path to the wovm the binary is built from
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
`woc myproject/` compiles every `.wo` file under the directory as one program.
|
||||
|
||||
Programs that create tables read their data directory from the `WO_DATA`
|
||||
environment variable at run time:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
WO_DATA=./data ./target/myproject seed
|
||||
WO_DATA=./data ./target/myproject report # a fresh process still sees the data
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Worked examples
|
||||
|
||||
Two complete sample programs live in the repository and double as the language's
|
||||
acceptance tests:
|
||||
|
||||
- **`docs/examples/employee/`** — departments and employees related by
|
||||
`ref`/`backlink`, `@unique`, foreign-key restrict on delete, per-department
|
||||
reports, and persistence across a restart. Run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
just employee # compile + run every mode against a durable database
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
- **`docs/examples/log-watcher/`** — a long-running daemon that watches log
|
||||
files for silent death, using the `fs`/`time`/`net`/`proc` stdlib. Run it:
|
||||
|
||||
```bash
|
||||
just log-watcher
|
||||
```
|
||||
|
||||
Read either program's `main.wo` for idiomatic, working writeonce.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
## Roadmap
|
||||
|
||||
Planned, **not yet available** — listed so the shipped surface above stays
|
||||
honest. These exist as design iterations and/or work-in-progress branches, not
|
||||
as features you can use today:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Query aggregates** — `group … by … into g` with `count`/`avg`/`min`/`max`
|
||||
and projection records. (Today the same result is written by hand from the
|
||||
shipped primitives.)
|
||||
- **HTTP service layer** — `service` blocks that route requests to methods.
|
||||
- **Concurrency** — a shard-actor runtime and green-threaded fibers.
|
||||
- **Cross-program database access** — one program attaching to another's
|
||||
database over a local channel, with keypair authentication and per-client
|
||||
rights.
|
||||
- **Blue-green deployment** — in-process recompile and atomic version switch.
|
||||
- **Compile-time metaprogramming** — `@derive(Json/Csv/Eq/…)` generated from a
|
||||
class's own metadata, no reflection.
|
||||
|
||||
Known current limits worth naming: `net` is TCP host+port only; `proc.run` has
|
||||
no timeout or signal control; there is no stdin/stdout byte I/O and no FFI.
|
||||
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
*writeonce is a work in progress. Interfaces will change. If you build
|
||||
something with it, pin to a commit.*
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in a new issue