hindilang: A Hindi-Inspired Programming Language 🚀

🔗 Full Blog: Building my own Programming Language

hindilang is a Hindi-inspired scripting language that transpiles to JavaScript, built as an academic exercise to understand compilers and programming languages.

Features 🌟

✅ Print Statements – Display output using CHAPO.
✅ Variables & Assignment – Declare variables with MANLO.
✅ User Input – Take input using PUCHO.
✅ Arithmetic Expressions – Perform calculations with +, -, *, /.
✅ Conditional Statements – Use AGAR (if) with {} blocks.
✅ Loops – Use JABTAK (while) for iterations.
✅ Comments – Use # for comments.

A Quick Taste of hindilang

Here are some examples

1. Variables and Printing

MANLO x = 5;
CHAPO x;

// Output
// 5

2. Taking User Input

PUCHO y;
CHAPO y;

// (If user enters 10)
// Output is 10

3. Conditional Statements (if)

MANLO x = 5;

AGAR (x > 3) {
    CHAPO "X bada hai!";
}

// Output
// X bada hai

4. Loops (while)

MANLO x = 5;

JABTAK (x < 10) {
    CHAPO x;
    MANLO x = x + 1;
}

// Output
// 5
// 6
// 7
// 8
// 9
// 10

5. Comments

# Yeh ek comment hai

//(Comments are ignored during execution)

How to Install & Run

1. Install Globally Hindilang must be installed globally to work as a CLI tool:

npm install -g hindilang

2. Run your Script

hindic myscript.hindi

Note: Ensure that your npm global bin directory is in your system's PATH if hindic is not recognized.

Troubleshooting: "hindic not recognized" Problem

If after installing you see an error like:

'hindic' is not recognized as an internal or external command

follow these steps:

Check your global npm bin directory: Run the following command to find where npm installs global executables:

npm prefix -g

Typically, on Windows, this will be something like:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\npm

Add the directory to your PATH (if it's missing):

• Temporary fix (only for the current terminal session):

  $env:Path += ";C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\npm"

• Permanent fix (persists across restarts): In PowerShell, run:

  [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\npm", "User")

  Restart your terminal after making changes !

How It Works 🔧

Code Flow 🚀

📌 package.json – Defines the project and dependencies.
📌 bin/hindic – Reads .hindi files, compiles, and executes them.
📌 Lexer – Converts source code into tokens.
📌 Emitter – Stores and writes transpiled JavaScript.
📌 Parser – Matches tokens to grammar and generates JavaScript output.

Parser Characteristics

✔️ Top-Down Parsing – Starts from the highest-level structure (program) and drills down into finer details like expressions and numbers.
✔️ Recursive Descent – The parser calls itself recursively to process different statements and expressions.
✔️ LL(1) Parsing – Uses one token lookahead to determine the next action without backtracking.

Beyond Transpiling

🛣️ Use LLVM to generate optimized machine code.
🛣️ Emit x86 assembly and compile using an assembler (nasm).
🛣️ Convert code to WebAssembly (WASM) for execution in browsers.

Other Info 🤝

• Inspired by TeenyTinyCompiler
• Feel free to open issues or submit PRs.
• Future plans: A Playground for it to see it run in the browser.

🚀 Made with ❤️ by Arjit Sharma