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Basic types

All values in baba-lang has a type associated with it. There are currently 12 types in baba-lang: string, integer, float, boolean, null, list, dict, module, baba-lang function, native (Python) function, class and instance

Integer type

The integer type is one of the most basic and important types in most programming languages. Integers in baba-lang are just simple wrappers around Python integers, therefore it largely inherits behavior from Python. This means that it is arbitrary-precision.

Syntax

Right now, baba-lang only supports decimal syntax, and leading zeros are simply ignored, rather than treated specially.

Note that, for simplicity, the baba-lang grammar does not treat negative numbers as a single literal, but a production consisting of an unary operator (+ or -) and the number itself.

0
1
-1
010  # == 10 (not 8)
001  # == 1
0xff  # illegal
1234567891011121314151617181920  # possible thanks to arbitrary precision

Supported operators:

  1. All binary operators:
    1. Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %/%, %, **
    2. Bitwise operators: &, |, ^, <<, >>
    3. Comparison operators: ==, !=, >, >=, <, <=
  2. All unary operators: +, -, ~

Float type

Float in baba-lang are just simple wrappers around Python integers, therefore it largely inherits behavior from Python. This means that it is a double-precision floating-point number that follows the IEEE 754 standard.

Syntax

Floats in baba-lang consists of three parts: Integer part, fractional part and exponent. All parts are optional, but at least one is required.

The special numbers Infinity, -Infinity and NaN are available from the std/math.bl library as Math.INF, -Math.INF and Math.NAN respectively

1.1
-0.2
.2
2.
2  # not a float, but an integer
2e100
1.2e-10
.00000000012   # equivalent to the above

Supported operators:

  1. Binary operators:
    1. Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %/%, %, **
    2. Comparison operators: ==, !=, >, >=, <, <=
  2. Unary operators: +, -

String type

Strings in baba-lang are largely similar to Python’s. Strings can be double-quoted or single-quoted. Unlike Perl, single-quoted and double-quoted strings are nearly identical in behavior, therefore which delimiter to use is largely a matter of style and preference.

Syntax

As baba-lang uses str to parse a string, the syntax for strings is identical to Python. See for details.

'hello'
"world"
"eBaum's World"
'eBaum\'s World'  # having 2 different quotes avoid this

'There is a website\nnamed "eBaum\'s World"'
# this is:
# There is a website
# named "eBaum's World"

print('I hate\b\b\b\blove you\a')  # prints 'I love you' and plays a sound (if the console supports it)

'a
b'  # illegal

'a"  # also illegal

Supported operators

  1. Binary operators:
    1. Concatenation: +
    2. Repetition: *
    3. Comparison in lexicographical order: ==, !=, >, >=, <, <=

Boolean type

Booleans are either true or false. Unlike Python, booleans are not subtypes of integers, therefore most operations on booleans do not work on integers.

Syntax

There are 2 Boolean literals: true and false. They are reserved keywords (cannot be used as identifiers)

Supported operators

None. The logical operators works based on the truth value of its operands, but it works on any value and therefore are not considered here.

Null type

The null type only has a single instance: null. null is used as the default return value for functions without an explicit return.

Syntax

The only instance null is a reserved keyword.

Supported operators

None.

The rest

The rest of the types will have their separate pages to detail them:

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