Get started

First program

A Genzimnify source file ends in .gzim. The native runtime parses, checks, and executes the file.

Create a project

Make an empty directory, enter it, and ask the CLI for a starter file:

mkdir hello-gzim
cd hello-gzim
gzim init

This creates main.gzim and a project manifest named gzim.toml. Replace the source file’s contents with:

let name be "world"

cook greet(who):
    send it glow"Hello, {who}"

yap(call up greet(name) yo)

gzim main.gzim

Output:

Hello, world

gzim run main.gzim is equivalent to gzim main.gzim. Both commands use the native runtime.

Genzimnify is not Python and does not translate to Python during execution. The last column lists the closest Python syntax for comparison.

Genzimnify	Meaning	Python equivalent
`let name be "world"`	Declare a mutable variable.	`name = "world"`
`cook greet(who):`	Define a function named `greet`.	`def greet(who):`
`send it value`	Return a value from a cook.	`return value`
`glow"Hello {name}"`	Interpolate expressions into text.	`f"Hello {name}"`
`call up greet(name) yo`	Call a function as an expression.	`greet(name)`
`yap(value)`	Print values to standard output.	`print(value)`

gzim check main.gzim

The semantic checker catches invalid assignments, locked-variable changes, misplaced returns, invalid loop control, and other caps before execution.

Arguments after the file name are available as the global args stack:

vibecheck call up how many(args) yo > 0:
    yap(glow"yo {args[0]}")
otherwise:
    yap("yo stranger")

gzim main.gzim chat
# yo chat

gzim repl

Type one or more lines, then submit a blank line to run the current input. Press Ctrl+D to leave.