Status

The 2023 compiler 0.3 features significant updates that faithfully realize the vision of the 2017 whitepaper.

The readability of the latest Lexon syntax is higher than originally expected. The complexity of the grammar is much higher than the 2017 starting point, approaching that of a 3rd generation programming language—but in light of its application, remains remarkably simple. The invention of the Lexon Grammar Form (LGF), a modest adaption of the Backus-Naur Form (BNF), helps keeping it succinct and highly readable.

Today's fourth implementation of the compiler uses standard C compiler building technology for an overall build chain that is deeper than usual but ultimately remains slim and tidy for a compiler. The return to C from Rust, which was used for the third implementation was spured by requirements stemming from natural language ambiguity. The current implementation is using generalized left-to-right rightmost derivation parsing (GLR) again after Parsing Expression Grammar (PEG) appeared to hamper progress. The compiler retains a small footprint and features minimal dependencies, making it robust, fast and portable across systems. Builds are tested on Darwin UNIX (Mac) and Ubuntu Linux.

An important element of the overall Lexon build chain is the Lexon Grammar Form (LGF) that helpfully extends the Backus-Naur-Form (BNF) to better capture the variability of natural language. The LGF compiler transpiles LGF to BNF and is included in the Lexon compiler.

Size and complexity of examples is fair, enough to break the Ethereum smart contract limit, or to implement an entire UCC form. Lexon will scale out because it is built with the same tools and techniques as modern C, C++, C# or Java compilers. Its challenges are no different and its maximum code size will be comparable. The sizes of Lexon examples seems larger than that of other projects.

For the upcoming grammar and compiler versions 0.4, targets have been defined using a concrete DeFi DAO project.

Learn about the Oversimplicated DAO:

Check out the original 2017 Whitepaper: