Sapphire

A fast, lightweight and expressive hybrid programming language

Development Status

Sapphire is currently under active development.

The language is now focused on a grid-based rendering system, with a spreadsheet-like architecture already functional. Current work includes:

• Making the syntax more flexible, including:

  • Optional semicolons
  • Automatic type inference
  • Automatic number-to-string conversion

• Language improvements and new features:

  • for loops
  • enums
  • const
  • Vector2D and Vector3D
  • Better error treatment
  • General syntax and usability enhancements

• What is already accomplished?

  • Vector2D and Vector2d
  • Solved the grid problem, it is working flawlessly.
  • Automatic type inference, now just do: x = 10;

Current Development Version:* Sapphire v1.0.7 Check out the preview of 1.0.7! It is bundled with a simple raycaster made solely with Sapphire!

---

About the Project

Sapphire is a hybrid programming language designed with a strong focus on:

• Performance
• Simplicity
• Clarity

It aims to combine the speed of compiled languages with the ease of use of high-level scripting, making it suitable for tools, UI-driven applications, and system-level tasks.

---

What You Can Do with Sapphire

• Perform complex mathematical and logical expressions
• Declare variables, functions, classes, and arrays
• Build native UI systems easily
• Communicate with the operating system
• Handle HTTP, JSON, file I/O, and more
• Write clean, readable, and efficient code with minimal boilerplate

---

Technologies Used

• C++ — Core language used to build the compiler and runtime
• CMake — Project build system
• SFML — Window creation and rendering

---

Features

• SapphireUI Native Immediate Mode GUI bundled directly with the executable

• Arithmetic Operations From basic math to advanced operations via built-in Math functions

• Garbage Collector Efficient Mark-and-Sweep GC implemented in C++

• JSON Parsing Native JSON parsing support

• HTTP Library Built-in HTTP features (ping, download, requests, etc.)

• System Utilities File I/O, colored terminal output, debug tools, and more

• Simple Declarations Easily declare functions, classes, and arrays (ListUtil)

• Low Learning Curve Create a UI window in minutes

• Built-in Layout Engine (WIP) Flexbox and grid-based layout system

• Static Typing Designed for maximum performance

• SVM (Sapphire Virtual Machine) Fast, custom-built virtual machine

• Mine: Plugin Repository Download plugins directly from the Sapphire CLI

• Bytecode Compilation Compile scripts into .sbc bytecode

• Lightweight & Standalone Fully statically linked executable (~30 MB, no DLLs required)

---

Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

Since the installer is still in development, installation is manual.

You may need:

• 7-Zip or WinRAR (optional, for extraction)

Installation Steps

1. Download the latest release from the repository
2. Extract the archive
3. Open the Sapphire root folder
4. Add the build directory to your system PATH
5. Open a new terminal

Run a script with:

Sapphire your_script.sp

This executes the script using Sapphire’s hybrid interpreter.

---

Syntax & Examples

UI Example

string btnLabel = "Click here!";
UI.CreateStyle("BlueTheme", "#1a1a2e", "#e94560", "#0f3460", 2.0, "#16213e", 10.0, "Arial", 18);

function updateUI() void {
    UI.Begin();
    UI.PushStyle("BlueTheme");

    UI.SetBGColor("#16213e");
    UI.Text("Native UI!");
    UI.Spacing();

    if (UI.Button(btnLabel, 200.0, 50.0)) {
        print "Button was clicked!";
    }

    UI.PopStyle();
    UI.End();
}

while (true) {
    updateUI();
}

---

HTTP, I/O & JSON Example

(Use Windows Terminal for ANSI color support)

function main() void {
    IO.printColor("cyan", "--- Starting Integration Test ---");

    IO.printColor("yellow", "Fetching API data...");
    string url = "http://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1";
    string response = HTTP.get(url);

    if (len(response) > 0) {
        IO.printColor("green", "HTTP Response received successfully!");

        class data = JSON.parse(response);

        IO.printColor("cyan", "Data ID:");
        print data.id;

        IO.printColor("cyan", "Title:");
        print data.title;

        string path = "backup_api.json";
        IO.printColor("yellow", "Saving backup to disk...");

        if (IO.writeFile(path, response)) {
            IO.printColor("green", "File saved: " + path);
        }

        if (IO.exists(path)) {
            IO.printColor("green", "Verification: File exists on disk.");
            string localContent = IO.readFile(path);
            IO.printColor("cyan", "Content read from file:");
            print localContent;
        }
    } else {
        IO.printColor("red", "Error: Could not connect to the API.");
    }

    IO.printColor("green", "--- Test Finished ---");
}

main();

---

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

You can help by:

• Reporting bugs
• Suggesting features
• Submitting pull requests

Reporting Issues

When opening an issue, please include:

• Clear description of the problem or suggestion
• Steps to reproduce (if applicable)
• Expected vs actual behavior
• Environment details (OS, compiler, etc.)

---

Author

foxzyt

---

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Please steal my code. See the LICENSE file for more information.