4. Basic Syntax and Structure

Jik uses explicit block delimiters and does not rely on indentation. However, there is only one sane way to write readable Jik code - which is consistent indentation per block.

A Jik module may consist of the following top-level entities:

global declarations written with :=
functions
data type definitions (enums, structs, variants)
embedded C blocks and native build directives

4.1 Functions

Functions are declared with func and closed with end:

func add(x, y):
    return x + y
end

Arguments are written with or without types; the compiler infers / assigns C types from usages (calls)
return exits the function with a value.
each Jik program needs to have a main function defined, which is treated as the program entry point

A version of the same function with types would look like:

func add(x: int, y: int) -> int:
    return x + y
end

This is useful for writing library functions which have no usages/calls which can be used for inference by the compiler.

4.2 Blocks and control keywords

Blocks are always closed with end, for example:

if ... end
while ... end
for ... end
match ... end
struct ... end
variant ... end
func ... end

Each block introduces a new scope.

However, Jik currently uses stricter redeclaration rules than C-style block shadowing:

an inner local scope may not redeclare a name that already exists in an outer local scope of the same function
this includes parameters and loop variables from enclosing scopes
a local declaration also may not shadow a same-module global

A colon : follows most control headers:

if n < 0:
    return -n
end

4.3 Comments

Use // for single-line comments:

// This is a comment
x = x + 1      // trailing comment

4.4 Arithmetic and Logical operators

Arithmetic and comparison operators look as in C-style languages:

x := 3 + 4 * (8 - 7)
ok := (x >= 10) and (x != 13)

Supported comparisons include: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=.

Boolean expressions use:

not a
a and b
a or b

with the usual short-circuit behavior (mirroring C).

---