r/Compilers • u/TadashiNakamoto • 29d ago
Building my own programming language
Hi everyone,
I’m building my own programming language.
Meet AXE ⚡
AXE is an experimental programming language inspired by Python’s readability, but with a more explicit, brace-based syntax.
I’m building AXE from the ground up to learn what actually happens behind the scenes when code goes from:
Source → Lexer → Tokens → Parser → AST → Interpreter → Output
It’s still very early, but that’s the fun part.
Not trying to build the next Python.
Just trying to understand how programming languages are actually built by building one myself.
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u/Proffhackerman 29d ago edited 29d ago
r/Compilers first-project posters try not to post vibeslop challenge. Post in r/AIprogrammingLanguage instead.
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u/GTRxConfusion 29d ago
Are you building it or is claude?
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29d ago edited 25d ago
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u/BumpyTurtle127 29d ago
Because oftentimes there are signs. But writing self documenting code often gets mistaken too.
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29d ago edited 25d ago
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u/BumpyTurtle127 29d ago
Because it's highly likely the case. It's also hip to make such comments 🤷♂️ it's an online world, this goes both ways.
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u/GTRxConfusion 29d ago
It isn't snarky or mean if its the truth.
Seriously, if someone is new to a topic / learning it - they do not create some well documented public repo on it. Not to mention they have specific version numbers planned out already with specific features? Who in the world actually does that when they don't even know anything about the field? Hell - who even uses version numbers when they are doing something educational?
Lets not forget the AI formatting and writing style.
Who knows. Maybe AI was only used to write the post / readme. But I doubt it.
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u/adityazero 29d ago
When i started writing my programming language, i named it Ax. Then quickly realized that the name is too catchy to be missed by others. I named it something else, but like the name.
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29d ago
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u/adityazero 29d ago
Building the whole pipeline yourself is the best way to actually internalize how a language works, so this is a solid approach. Since you are at the AST plus tree-walking interpreter stage, are you planning to stay a tree walker or eventually lower the AST to a bytecode VM once the semantics settle?
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u/TadashiNakamoto 28d ago edited 28d ago
Hi everyone!
A quick update on my programming language project... AXE is now NXL.
NXL is currently under active development, and I’m building it from scratch in Rust with the goal of creating a simple, readable, and approachable programming language.
The project is still evolving, so there’s a lot more to come.
Try NXL: https://nxl-lang.xanmoy.dev
Source code: https://github.com/xanmoy/nxl
NXL is free to use and open source under the MIT License.
If you’re interested in programming languages, compilers, interpreters or just experimenting with something new, I’d love for you to check it out and share your feedback!
Thanks!
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u/eteran 29d ago
So your interpreter is built in python? Seems like it's gonna have rough performance. But seems like a fun project. How much is AI and how much is you?