Red (programming language)

From HandWiki
Short description: Computer programming language released in 2011
Red
Red Logo (stylized Tower of Hanoi)
Paradigmimperative, functional, symbolic
Designed byNenad Rakočević[1]
DeveloperNenad Rakočević
First appeared2011
Stable release
0.6.4[2] (Alpha) / December 7, 2018
OSLinux, Windows, OS X, Syllable
Licensemodified BSD and Boost
Filename extensions.red, .reds
Website{{{1}}}
Influenced by
Rebol, Scala, Lua

Red is a programming language designed to overcome the limitations of the programming language Rebol.[3] Red was introduced in 2011 by Nenad Rakočević,[4] and is both an imperative and functional programming language. Its syntax and general usage overlaps that of the interpreted Rebol language.[5]

The implementation choices of Red intend to create a full stack programming language:[4][6] Red can be used for extremely high-level programming (DSLs and GUIs) as well as low-level programming (operating systems and device drivers). Key to the approach is that the language has two parts: Red/System and Red.[7]

  • Red/System is similar to C, but packaged into a Rebol lexical structure – for example, one would write Template:Smalltalk instead of
    if (x > y) {printf("Hello\n");}
    .
  • Red is a homoiconic language[3] capable of meta-programming, with Rebol-like semantics. Red's runtime library is written in Red/System, and uses a hybrid approach: it compiles what it can deduce statically and uses an embedded interpreter otherwise. The project roadmap includes a just-in-time compiler for cases in between, but this has not yet been implemented.

Red seeks to remain independent of any other toolchain; it does its own code generation.[3] It is therefore possible to cross-compile[6] Red programs from any platform it supports to any other, via a command-line switch. Both Red and Red/System are distributed as open-source software under the modified BSD license. The runtime library is distributed under the more permissive Boost Software License.

As of version 0.6.4 Red includes a garbage collector "the Simple GC".[2]

Red Language architecture schema

Introduction

Red was introduced in the Netherlands in February 2011 at the Rebol & Boron conference[8] by its author Nenad Rakočević. In September 2011, the Red programming language was presented to a larger audience during the Software Freedom Day 2011.[9][10] Rakočević is a long-time Rebol developer known as the creator of the Cheyenne HTTP server.[11]

Features

Red's syntax and semantics are very close to those of Rebol.[4][12] Like Rebol, it strongly supports metaprogramming and domain-specific languages (DSLs) and is therefore a highly efficient tool for dialecting (creating embedded DSLs). Red includes a dialect called Red/System, a C-level language which provides system programming facilities.[7] Red is easy to integrate with other tools and languages as a DLL (libRed) and very lightweight (around 1 MB). It is also able to cross-compile to various platforms (see Cross Compilation section below) and create packages for platforms that require them (e.g., .APK on Android).[7] Red also includes a fully reactive cross-platform GUI system based on an underlying reactive dataflow engine, a 2D drawing dialect comparable to SVG, compile-time and runtime macro support, and more than 40 standard datatypes.

Goals

The following is the list of Red's Goals as presented on the Software Freedom Day 2011:[9][10]

  • Simplicity ("An IDE should not be necessary to write code.")
  • Compactness ("Being highly expressive maximizes productivity.")
  • Speed ("If too slow, it cannot be general-purpose enough.")
  • Be "Green", Have a Small Footprint ("Because resources are not limitless.")
  • Ubiquity ("Spread everywhere.")
  • Portability, Write once run everywhere ("That's the least expected from a programming language.")
  • Flexibility ("Not best but good fit for any task!")

Development

Red's development is planned to be done in two phases:

  1. Initial phase: Red and Red/System compilers written in Rebol 2
  2. Bootstrap phase: Red and Red/System compilers complemented by a Red JIT-compiler, all written in Red

Cross compilation

Red currently supports the following cross-compilation targets:

(Note: This list will increase with time and should therefore be considered as incomplete.)

Hello World!

Red [Title: "Simple hello world script"]
print "Hello World!"

Factorial example

IMPORTANT: These are intended as syntax examples. Until Red has 64-bit support, the integer example will overflow a 32-bit integer very quickly. Changing that to `float!` will go farther, but these are merely to show the syntax of the language.

The following is a factorial example in Red:

Red [Title: "A factorial script"]  ; Note: The title is optional.

factorial: func [
	x [integer!]  ; Giving the type of an argument in Red is optional
][
	either x = 0 [1][x * factorial x - 1]
]

The following is the same factorial example in Red/System (in this very simple case, the source code is very similar to Red's version):

Red/System [Title: "A factorial script"]

factorial: func [
	x       [integer!]                   ; This is compulsory in Red/System
	return: [integer!]                   ; This is compulsory in Red/System
][
	either x = 0 [1][x * factorial x - 1]
]

See also

References

  1. "Creator of Red". https://github.com/dockimbel. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 lucindamichele. "0.6.4 Simple GC and Pure Red GUI Console". https://www.red-lang.org/2018/12/064-simple-gc-and-pure-red-gui-console.html. "The main feature for 0.6.4 is what we call the Simple GC (Garbage Collector). A more advanced GC is planned for the future" 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Getting Started with GUI Programming using Red Language". https://www.studytonight.com/post/getting-started-with-gui-programming-using-red-programming-language. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Balbaert 2018.
  5. "Interview with Nenad Rakocevic about Red, a Rebol inspired programming language". 28 August 2015. https://www.notamonadtutorial.com/interview-with-nenad-rakocevic-about-red-a-rebol-inspired-programming-language/. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "6 Unusual & Groundbreaking Programming Languages to Learn in 2023". 18 October 2023. https://www.makeuseof.com/programming-languages-to-learn-in-2023/. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lucas, Mathis (21 July 2023). "Red: an imperative and functional programming language that is also a "full battery" language". Developpez.com. https://programmation.developpez.com/actu/346670/Red-un-langage-de-programmation-imperatif-et-fonctionnel-et-decrit-comme-un-langage-a-pile-complete-c-est-a-dire-qu-il-peut-etre-utilise-pour-la-programmation-de-haut-niveau-et-de-bas-niveau/. 
  8. « New Red Programming Language Gets Syllable Backend », osnews.com, May 2011.
  9. 9.0 9.1 « Red Programming Language: Red at Software Freedom Day 2011 », red-lang.org, September 14, 2011.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Software Freedom Day 2011: Red programming language, a new REBOL dialect". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgtgoliZ454. 
  11. « What is Cheyenne? » Last referenced Nov 2017.
  12. "The Dynamic Mapping Architecture". December 2021. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=toledo1639760375713532&disposition=inline. 

Further reading

  • Balbaert, Ivo (May 2018) (in en). Learn Red - Fundamentals of Red. Packt Publishing. ISBN 978-1789130706. 

External links