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More flexible matches and declarations in Jik v0.1.0-alpha.25

Jik v0.1.0-alpha.25 is now available. This release adds a catch-all arm for match, lets typed local declarations include an initializer, and shortens struct construction when variable and field names agree. It also adds a runtime region-lifetime view for allocation behavior diagnostics.

Handle remaining match cases with other

A final other arm handles every enum member or variant tag that preceding case arms do not cover. This keeps matches concise when several remaining values have the same behavior. Without other, matches remain exhaustive. 

enum Mode:
    DEBUG
    RELEASE
    TEST
end

func label(mode: Mode, r: Region) -> String:
    match mode:
        case Mode.DEBUG:
            return "debug"[r]
        other:
            return "ordinary"[r]
    end
end

Give typed locals an initial value

Local declarations may now combine a type annotation and initializer. This is useful where the declared type documents the value or gives context to an expression such as None. 

func main():
    retries: int = 3
    result: Option[int] = None
    println(retries, ": ", result)
end

Use struct field initializer shorthand

A struct initializer can name a visible variable directly when it has the same name as the target field. The shorthand remains named, so fields can still appear in any order and can be mixed with regular field initializers. 

struct Config:
    host: String
    port: int
end

func main():
    host := "localhost"
    port := 8080
    config := Config{host, port}
    println(config.host, ": ", config.port)
end

Inspect runtime region lifetimes

The --region-tree option for jik run, jik build, and jik tran prints runtime regions in creation order. Indentation shows which region lifetime is nested inside another, making it easier to inspect a program's allocation structure. 

jik run hello.jik --region-tree

Release: Jik v0.1.0-alpha.25 Docs: match on enums Docs: Variables and assignment Docs: Structs Docs: --region-tree