PohLang

A beginner-focused, fully phrasal (English-like) language that transpiles to Dart. There is no symbol-based mode: every program is written as readable commands.

Goals

Use plain-language statements: Write "Hello", Set count 5, Repeat count Write "Hi".
Keep one clear form per concept (no synonyms like Print/Show). Use Write, not Say/Print.
Provide a gentle path to programming concepts (variables, loops, conditionals, functions) without punctuation noise.
Output readable Dart so learners can transition later.

Example

Ask for name
Write "Hello " + name
Set count 3
Repeat count Write "Hi"
If count > 1 Write "Many" Otherwise Write "Few"
Make greet with who Write "Hi " + who
Use greet with "Poh"

Running a Program

Ensure Dart SDK is installed.
Place a .poh file in the project root or examples/.
Transpile:

dart run src/transpiler.dart examples/phrase_repeat.poh

Run the generated Dart file (same basename with .dart).

dart run examples/phrase_repeat.dart

CLI (bin/) usage

Once in this repo:

dart run bin/pohlang.dart examples/phrase_repeat.poh

Flags:

--no-run — only transpile, don't execute the generated Dart
-o <file.dart> — write output to a custom path

You can also run with tasks in VS Code: use the Command Palette → Run Task → "Transpile + Run (invoice example)".

Package & publish

Current version: 0.0.2. To dry-run a publish:

dart pub publish --dry-run

To run analyzer and format:

dart analyze
dart format .

Install from pub.dev

Once published, users can install globally:

dart pub global activate pohlang

Run a program:

pohlang path/to/program.poh

Notes:

You can add comments with #. Everything after # on a line is ignored.
Parser errors include line numbers, for example: Line 2: After 'Otherwise' you must add 'Write <expression>'.

Current Features (v0.1)

Write, Ask for, Set, Increase, Decrease
Inline If with Otherwise (single-line)
Inline Repeat loop
Inline function definition + call (Make/Use)
Expression support: identifiers, numbers, strings, + and -
Desugaring for increase/decrease

Roadmap

Multi-line blocks with indentation (If / Repeat / Define)
Functions emitted as real Dart functions (current inline stored only)
Lists, dictionaries, predicates (is even, is greater than)
Extended comparisons using verbal forms (is greater than)
Random numbers, timers, date utilities
Error diagnostics with suggestions & line numbers
Optional extensions: Islamic-friendly helpers (prayer times, Hijri date, Quran recitation)
Flutter integration examples

Directory Structure

src/       Core transpiler sources
example/   Sample PohLang programs
doc/       Vocabulary & syntax references
lib/       Future runtime helpers / extensions

Contributing

Open to experiments—keep syntax consistent and simple. Avoid adding multiple ways to express the same idea unless it aids learning progression.