Lexiform

The High-Performance Form Markup Language & Compiler

Lexiform is a unified, developer-first platform for defining, validating, and rendering web forms. It combines a human-readable Domain-Specific Language (DSL) with a high-performance C++ compiler, making form definitions version-controllable, semantically sound, and cross-platform.

Project Overview

Lexiform is structured as a monorepo containing the following components:

• C++ Core Compiler: The heart of Lexiform. It performs lexical analysis, parsing, and semantic validation.
• WebAssembly Bridge: A binding layer that compiles the C++ core into WASM for use in browsers and Node.js.
• lexiform (NPM Package): The official JavaScript/TypeScript library that provides a high-level API and React hooks for the WASM engine.
• CLI Tool: A command-line interface for compiling .form files to JSON directly from the terminal.

Why Lexiform?

• Human-Readable DSL: Replace massive, brittle JSON schemas with clean, intuitive markup.
• Semantic Safety: The C++ compiler catches structural errors, duplicate IDs, and invalid attribute combinations before your form even renders.
• Unified Logic: Use the exact same compiler engine across your CLI, backend, and frontend.
• Performance: Complex parsing and validation are offloaded to WebAssembly for near-native speed.
• Git Friendly: .form files are plain text, making them easy to version, diff, and review.

Repository Structure

Lexiform/
├── src/                # C++ Core Source (Lexer, Parser, Analyzer)
├── include/            # C++ Headers
├── packages/
│   └── lexiform-js/    # Official JS/TS Library (WASM-powered)
├── tests/              # Cross-platform test suites
├── build/              # Build artifacts (CMake)
└── emsdk/              # Emscripten SDK for WASM compilation

Getting Started

For Users (Web Development)

If you just want to use Lexiform in your React or TypeScript project, install the NPM package:

npm install lexiform

See the lexiform-js README for detailed usage instructions and React examples.

For Contributors (Building from Source)

To build the entire project, including the C++ core and WebAssembly modules:

1. Prerequisites:

   • CMake (3.10+)
   • C++17 Compiler
   • Node.js (18+) & npm
   • Emscripten SDK (included in emsdk/)

2. Full Build:

   npm run build

3. Running CLI Tests:

   node tests/test_runner.js

License

MIT - See LICENSE for details.