PiCo A small, compact scripting language and virtual machine implemented in C. pico includes a compiler, virtual machine, REPL, and a set of core modules for working with values, objects, and I/O. Features Register-based bytecode VM REPL Functions and closures Classes and methods Modules Lists, maps, strings, and slicing Small standard library Manual / automatic GC modes See the included manual.md for a detailed language reference and usage examples: https://github.com/the0cp/pico/blob/master/manual.md What it looks like # A tiny PiCo demo: func slug(s) { return s.trim().lower().replace(" ", "-"); } func badge(s) { return "[" + s + "]"; } func makeCounter(prefix) { var n = 0; return func(name) { n++; return "${prefix}-${n}: ${name}"; }; } var next = makeCounter("demo"); var topics = [" Register VM ", " Pipe Operator ", " Path Join "]; for (var topic : topics) { var name = topic |> slug |> badge; print next(name); } print "path: ${"examples" / "data" / "sample.txt"}"; print "slice: ${"register-vm"[0:8]}, reverse: ${"PiCo"[::-1]}"; $> echo hello from the host shell print "shell exit code = ${_exit_code}"; Examples More examples are available in examples/. Try more examples: ./build/debug/pico examples/tour.pcs ./build/debug/pico examples/file_indexer.pcs ./build/debug/pico examples/modules/main.pcs # ... Building Requirements: gcc and CMake. The code uses GCC-specific techniques such as computed goto / dispatch table, so GCC is required. On Windows, GCC can be installed through MinGW-w64, Chocolatey, or MSYS2. Clone the repo: git clone --recursive https://github.com/the0cp/pico.git Configure and build a debug version: cmake --preset debug cmake --build --preset debug Configure and build a release version: cmake --preset release cmake --build --preset release On Windows: cmake --preset release-windows cmake --build --preset release-windows The executable is generated under the corresponding build directory, for example: build/debug/pico build/release/pico build/release-windows/pico.exe Installing Install PiCo to your local user prefix: cmake --preset release cmake --build --preset release cmake --install build/release --prefix ~/.local Make sure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH: export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" Then run PiCo from anywhere. To install system-wide: sudo cmake --install build/release Embedding PiCo in C PiCo can also be used as an embedded scripting VM inside a C program. The host program owns a PicoVM, loads PiCo source code, registers native C functions, calls PiCo functions, and can capture script output and runtime errors. A minimal embedded program looks like this: #include <stdio.h> #include <pico.h> int main(void){ PicoVM* vm = pico_vm_create(); if(vm == NULL){ return 1; } PicoStatus status = pico_vm_eval(vm, "func add(a, b){ return a + b; }\n", "<embedded>" ); if(status != PICO_STATUS_OK){ fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", pico_vm_last_error(vm)); pico_vm_destroy(vm); return 1; } PicoValue args[] = { pico_value_number(20), pico_value_number(22) }; PicoValue result; status = pico_vm_call(vm, "add", 2, args, &result); if(status == PICO_STATUS_OK && result.type == PICO_VALUE_NUMBER){ printf("%.14g\n", result.as.number); } pico_vm_destroy(vm); return status == PICO_STATUS_OK ? 0 : 1; } The third argument of pico_vm_eval() is a diagnostic source name. It does not need to be a real file path; names like "<embedded>" or "<plugin>" are useful for error messages. The embedding API currently supports these core operations: pico_vm_create() / pico_vm_destroy() for VM lifetime management pico_vm_eval() for loading PiCo source code pico_vm_register_native() for exposing C functions to PiCo pico_vm_call() for calling global PiCo functions from C pico_vm_set_output() and pico_vm_set_error_output() for capturing print output and runtime error output pico_vm_last_error() for reading the latest compile or runtime error More complete examples are in examples/embedding/. Linking against an installed libpico After installation, an external C program can include pico.h and link against libpico.a: gcc main.c -I /path/to/pico/include -L /path/to/pico/lib -lpico -lm -o embed_app On Windows with MinGW, the command is the same except paths usually point to the local install prefix, for example: gcc .\main.c ` -I .\install-debug\include ` -L .\install-debug\lib ` -lpico ` -lm ` -o .\embed_app.exe Testing Run the test suite with CTest: ctest --preset debug --output-on-failure or for release: ctest --preset release --output-on-failure Usage Run the interactive REPL: pico Run a script: pico path/to/script.pcs Pico scripts can also be executed directly with a Unix shebang: #!/usr/bin/env pico print("hello from Shebang"); Make it executable and run it: chmod +x hello.pcs ./hello.pcs Check manual.md for language syntax, built-in functions, and examples.
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