💤📜 ZScript

ZScript is a lightweight, expressive scripting language inspired by Python — but with its own minimalist and expressive style. It supports Unicode and emoji identifiers, functional programming constructs, file I/O, and can be embedded as a shared C library. Whether you're automating tasks, scripting games, or exploring creative code, ZScript makes it simple and fun.

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🚀 Quick Start

var hello = "Hello, World!";
println(hello);  // Outputs: Hello, World!

📖 Explore language features in the Usage Guide →

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✨ Features

• 🌍 Unicode & Emoji Identifiers — Name variables π, 🐱, or any emoji you like.
• 🧠 Familiar Python-like Syntax — Use var, const, func, if, for, and more.
• ⚙️ Built‑in Functions — clock(), shuffle(), random_between() and others built-in.
• 📁 File I/O — read_file() and write_file() to handle files natively.
• 🧱 Structs & Closures — Define custom types and encapsulate behavior.
• 🐧 Linux‑Only — Runs out of the box on most Linux distributions.
• 🧬 Embeddable VM — Integrate ZScript with C, Go, Rust, or C++ applications.

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🔽 Download

Get the latest prebuilt binaries and development files from the Releases →:

• 💤 VM Executable: Download zvm
• 🔧 Development Files:
  • libzscript.h
  • libzscript.so
• 📦 Full Release Bundle (VM + Libs + Headers):
  zscript-release.zip

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⚙️ Installation

✅ Requirements

• OS: Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, etc.)
• Tools: gcc, make, pkg-config, libffi, readline
• Go (Golang)

🧰 Install with Script

System-wide:

curl -sL https://github.com/cryptrunner49/zscript/raw/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash -s -- install --system

User-only:

curl -sL https://github.com/cryptrunner49/zscript/raw/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash -s -- install --user

🏗 Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/cryptrunner49/zscript.git
cd zscript
make vm
./bin/zvm samples/scripts/rpg_game.z

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🧠 Embedding ZScript

ZScript is easy to embed in other languages like C, Go, C++, and Rust.

✅ Example in C

#include "libzscript.h"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    ZScript_Init(argc, argv);

    if (argc > 1) {
        ZScript_RunFile(argv[1]);
    } else {
        int exitCode;
        char* result = ZScript_InterpretWithResult("1 + 2;", "<script>", &exitCode);
        if (exitCode == 0) printf("Last value: %s\n", result);
        else printf("Execution failed with code %d\n", exitCode);
        free(result);
    }

    ZScript_Free();
    return 0;
}

🛠 Build & Run

make lib
gcc -o run_sample samples/lib/c/sample.c -Lbin -lzscript -Ibin
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=bin ./run_sample

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🔍 More Embedding Examples

Find ready-to-run embedding samples in:

• 📄 C
• 📄 C++
• 📄 Go
• 📄 Rust

These show how to use ZScript with FFI across different ecosystems.

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🧪 Platform‑Specific Setup

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install gcc pkg-config make golang libffi-dev libreadline-dev

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🗺 Roadmap

What’s next for ZScript?

• Elif
• Pattern Matching
• Switch Statement
• Enums
• Error Handling
• Standard Library

✨ Track progress or suggest features via Issues →

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🤝 Contributing

We’d love your help! Whether it's fixing bugs, improving docs, or proposing features—your contributions matter.

👉 See the Contributing Guide → to get started.

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📄 License

ZScript is licensed under the GNU GPL-3.0.
See the LICENSE for details.