OctaneMini — Imperative Static Compiled Language (one-file)

What is this project? 💡

OctaneMini is a tiny proof-of-concept programming language that compiles a single source file into JVM bytecode. The compiler and runtime are implemented in Java; the intended use is experimental and educational — to demonstrate parsing and manual JVM classfile emission.

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Quick start 🔧

• Build the module:

  • From the module folder: cd newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile && mvn package
  • From repo root: mvn -f newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/pom.xml package

• Run the compiler (no args will read main.octane and write Main.class):

  • With Java: java -cp target/octaneLangSimpleStaticCompiled-1.0.0.jar org.berlin.staticlang.CompiledLangOneFile
  • With Maven exec: mvn -f newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/pom.xml exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="org.berlin.staticlang.CompiledLangOneFile"

• Verify output: javap -c Main.class (or javap -v Main.class) to inspect generated bytecode.

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Key files & structure 📂

• newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/src/org/berlin/staticlang/CompiledLangOneFile.java — entry point, lexer, parser, AST, and visitor that drives compilation.
• newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/src/org/berlin/staticlang/Code.java — bytecode emitter helpers and code buffer logic.
• newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/src/org/berlin/staticlang/JavaCompilerHelper.java — JVM constants, constant pool helpers, and class file builders.
• newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/main.octane — example source used when no CLI argument is provided.

Note: doc/ directories contain copy/demos; prefer editing code under src/.

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Conventions & important notes ⚠️

• Java compatibility: the module targets Java 1.5 (see pom.xml properties). Avoid changes that assume newer classfile features unless intentional.
• The compiler builds JVM classfiles manually (constant pool, attributes, code sections). Use JavaCompilerHelper.ByteCodes constants when modifying opcodes.
• Parser style: recursive-descent + visitor (ProgramVisitor) — most grammar/tokenization logic is in CompiledLangOneFile.

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Development workflow ✅

1. Make focused changes in src/ files. Avoid editing doc/ copies unless documentation updates are intended.
2. Build: mvn -f newUpdates/ImperativeStaticCompiledLangOneFile/pom.xml package.
3. Run compiler and inspect Main.class with javap -c Main.class.
4. Add small tests under test/ when adding behaviors; toggle Surefire skipTests in pom.xml to run them in CI.

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Contact & history

Author: Berlin Brown — see repository for license and historical notes.