Fun (https://fun-lang.xyz)

What is Fun?

Fun is an experiment, just for fun, but Fun works!

Fun is a highly strict programming language, but also highly simple. It looks like Python (My favorite language), but there are differences.

Influenced by Bash, C, Lua, PHP, Python, and Rust (Most influences came from linked languages).

Fun is and will ever be 100% free under the terms of the Apache-2.0 License.

Idea

• Simplicity
• Consistency
• Joy in coding
• Fun!

Characteristics

• Dynamic and optionally statically typed
• Type safety
• Written in C (C99) and Fun
• Internal libs are written with no_camel_case even when written in Fun, except class names
• Only a minimal function set is written in C, and most other core functions and libraries are implemented in Fun

The Fun Manifesto

Fun is a programming language built on a simple idea: Coding should be enjoyable, elegant, and consistent.

Philosophy

• Fun is Fun
  Programming should spark creativity, not frustration. Code in Fun feels light, playful, and rewarding.
• Fun Uses Nothing
  Minimalism is power. No unnecessary features, no endless syntax variations, no formatting debates. Just clean, uniform code.
• Indentation is Truth
  Two spaces, always. No tabs, no four-space wars. Code should look the same everywhere, from your laptop to /usr/bin/fun.
• One Way to Do It
  No clutter, no 15 ways of writing the same thing. Simplicity means clarity.
• Hackable by Nature
  Fun should be small and embeddable, like Lua. Easy to understand, extend, and tinker with — true to the hacker spirit.
• Beautiful Defaults
  A language that doesn’t need linters, formatters, or style guides. Beauty is built in.

The Community

Fun is not about being the fastest or the most feature-rich. It’s about sharing joy in coding. The community should be:

• Respectful
• Curious
• Creative

Like the name says: Fun Unites Nerds.

Please visit the Fun Community Page to get in touch.

The Goal

A language that feels like home for developers who:

• Love minimal, elegant tools
• Believe consistency is freedom
• Want to write code that looks good and feels good

Fun may not change the world — but it will make programming a little more fun.

Features

Core

• functions/classes/objects
• if/else if/else
• try/catch/finally

Lib

...

Extensions

• CGI support builtin using kcgi (optional) ☐
• cURL support builtin using libcurl (optional) ☑
• INI support builtin using iniparser (optional) ☑
• JSON support builtin using json-c (optional) ☑
• libSQL support builtin (optional) ☑
• PCRE2 support builtin for Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions (optional) ☑
• PCSC smart card support builtin using PCSC lite (optional) ☑
• SQLite support builtin (optional) ☑
• Tk support builtin for GUI application development (optional) ☐
• XML support builtin using libxml2 (optional) ☐

☑ = Done / ☐ = Planned or in progress.

Note: Not all of the above features will be implemented. Those who are marked "Done" will probaly remain in Fun, but I don't know actually... ;)

There are some libs written in Fun available in the ./lib/ diretory. In the future most Fun enhancements should be written in Fun itself.

Documentation

This is actually a work in progress...

Current documentation is only found in the Fun Handbook.

In the ./examples/ directory should be an example of most Fun features.

Fun internals are found directly in the ./src/ diretory. Fun Opcodes are found in ./src/vm/.

Since things are actually changing sometimes, I will not write the documentation for this as of now.

Complete API documentation will follow.

Author

Johannes Findeisen you@hanez.org