Template Proposal

Introduction

This proposal outlines the design and functionality of the Zirric Command Line Interface (CLI). The CLI aims to provide a seamless and efficient way for developers to interact with the Zirric programming language. The goal is the integration of all necessary tools and commands into a single, cohesive CLI, enhancing the overall developer experience.

Motivation

Currently Zirric solely exists in unit tests, not as a usable programming language. This is one central step to getting started and to actually use Zirric.

Proposed Solution

The goal is a single CLI tool named zirric that encompasses all functionalities required for developing, managing, and running Zirric projects. This includes commands for running code, managing dependencies, handling tasks, and interacting with the Language Server Protocol (LSP).

# default command
$ zirric

# Running Code
$ zirric run <path-to-file-or-module> [-- args...] [--flags...]

# REPL command
$ zirric repl
> "Hello, Zirric!"
- "Hello, Zirric!"

# Cave commands
$ zirric init     # creates a new Cavefile
$ zirric install  # installs dependencies from Cavefile
$ zirric cavefile # shows the parsed Cavefile contents

# Task commands
$ zirric task                                             # lists available tasks
$ zirric task run [--flags...] <task-name> [--] [args...]
$ zirric x <task-name> [--flags...] [--] [args...]        # shorthand for `task run`
$ zirric [--flags...] <task-name> [args...]               # shorthand for `task run`

# Project commands
$ zirric test # runs tests, can be overridden by user-defined task
$ zirric lint # lints code, can be overridden by user-defined task
$ zirric fmt  # formats code, can be overridden by user-defined task
$ zirric docs # generates documentation, can be overridden by user-defined task

# LSP subcommands
$ zirric lsp # defaults to stdio
$ zirric lsp stdio
$ zirric lsp ipc
$ zirric lsp tcp --port 7998 --bind 127.0.0.1 # both flags optional
$ zirric lsp socket --port 7998 --bind 127.0.0.1 # both flags optional

# Boring commands
$ zirric version
$ zirric help
$ zirric completion

Detailed Design

When starting the zirric CLI, it needs to determine which command is being invoked before passing it to the appropriate handler.
If the Cavefile needs to be parsed for the command to come, this needs to be done first.

The CLI should only read arguments and flags until --. Remaining arguments are passed to the executed command or task as-is.

Changes to the Standard Library

None.

Alternatives Considered

None.

Acknowledgements

Lithia with the embedded lsp, npm and task with their scripts.