Clyp Syntax Reference

This reference documents the Clyp language syntax in detail with examples and notes on how constructs map to Python in the transpiler.

Overview and tokens

• File format: .clyp
• Blocks: { ... } or indentation-style converted to Python
• Statements may end with ; but the parser normalizes semicolons to newlines
• Comments: # for single-line comments
• Strings: single, double, and triple quoted strings like Python

Whitespace and blocks

Clyp uses braces for blocks but the transpiler supports line/indentation analysis. Opening { is normalized into a : and an indentation increase in the generated Python. Closing } reduces indentation.

Example:

function greet(name) returns null {
    print("Hello " + name);
}

transpiles to (roughly):

def greet(name) -> None:
    print("Hello " + name)

Declarations: function, method, let, class

• function — declares a top-level function. Syntax:

function name(arg1, arg2) returns Type {
    ...
}

• let — a lightweight declaration that becomes assignment in Python:

let x = 10;

is equivalent to x = 10 in the generated Python.

• class — similar to Python class but supports inline field type annotations like int count = 0 which is translated to count: int = 0.

Example:

class Counter {
    int count = 0;
    increment(self) returns null {
        self.count = self.count + 1;
    }
}

Control flow

• if / else if / else: else if is normalized to elif in Python.
• for loops: for x in collection { ... } maps to Python for.
• repeat — a convenience construct for fixed-count loops.
• range x to y — sugar for range(x, y + 1).

Imports and modules

Clyp supports:

• pyimport — raw Python import
• import module — Clyp import handled by clyp_import(...) which can resolve .clyp files or packages with __init__.clyp.
• from module import x — maps to module member extraction via clyp_import(...) when module is a Clyp module

Std modules that are part of clyp.std are detected and emitted as regular Python imports so they interoperate well with Python runtime.

Expressions and operators

• unless — sugar for if not.
• is not -> !=, is -> == when used outside strings.

Function calls may end with ; which is stripped if parentheses balance.

Strings and comments

Strings behave like Python strings. The transpiler takes care to avoid replacing tokens inside strings by using a pre-pass that isolates string literals.

Examples

Hello world:

function main() returns null {
    print("Hello, world!");
}

Class and methods example (showing implicit self injection):

class Greeter {
    string message = "Hello";

    greet(name) returns null {
        print(self.message + ", " + name);
    }
}

Edge cases & notes

• The transpiler normalizes semicolons and braces before parsing to Python; odd combinations can still produce surprising mappings—write clear, idiomatic Clyp for best results.
• Module resolution consults clypPackages and the installed wheel clyp package for bundled packages.
• If you need to import Python modules directly, use pyimport.

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