Panda is a new Smalltalk implementation, written from scratch in C99.

Implemented features:

• All Smalltalk-80 syntax supported.
• Fast bytecode interpreter (optionally uses gcc's computed goto)
• Mark-Compact garbage collector
• A small class library, with language core, data structures, and streams
• Basic support for reading code from command line

Next on the TODO:

• Image support
• Interactive command line client and better script file support

Building

$ ./configure && make

Panda isn't installable right now. The `panda' executable runs in the directory in which it was built ("src/"), and expects the kernel library files to be in "../st".

Usage

The main executable `panda', reads Smalltalk statements from stdin, interprets them and outputs the result of the last statement. Variables can be declared in the usual Smalltalk way.

Examples

Here are some short examples. Make sure to browse through the class library in "st/" to see all the implemented classes.

1. Sort a constant array of SmallIntegers

   $ echo "#(3 7 5 7 12 1) sort" | ./panda

2. Bignum arithmetic

   $ echo "1000000000000000000000000 + 1" | ./panda

3. Data Structures: Put a pair #key -> 'foo' into a dictionary and attempt retrieval

   echo "|map| map := Dictionary new. map at: #key put: 'foo'. map at: #key." | ./panda

4. Fun with blocks: Use block to select elements of array which are greater than 5

   $ echo "#(3 7 5 7 12 1) select: [ :x | x > 5 ]" | ./panda

5. Errors: Panda prints a useful traceback if there is an runtime error

   $ echo "#(3 7 5 7 12 1) reverse" | ./panda An error occurred during program execution message: reverse

   Traceback: Array(Object)>>error: Array(Object)>>doesNotUnderstand: UndefinedObject>>doIt[] UndefinedObject>>doIt System>>startupSystem