Whaa?
Pogoscript is a programming language that emphasises readability, is friendly to domain specific languages and compiles to regular Javascript.
Installation
Pogoscript requires node.js and npm.
npm install -g pogo
Or to install local to your project:
npm install pogo
Usage
Interactive Prompt
pogo
Executing a Script
pogo helloWorld.pogo
Debugging a Script
All the regular node debugging invocations work:
To invoke the node debugger:
pogo debug helloWorld.pogo
To allow remote debugging, e.g. with node-inspector:
pogo --debug helloWorld.pogo
If you want to break on the first line:
pogo --debug-brk helloWorld.pogo
You can also put breakpoints in your source code, just put debugger on its own line:
someFunction ()
debugger
someOtherFunction ()
Compiling a Script
pogo -c helloWorld.pogo
Will produce helloWorld.js.
Watching and Compiling
pogo -cw helloWorld.pogo
Examples!
The canonical Node.js hello world:
http = require 'http'
http.createServer @(req, res)
res.writeHead 200 ('Content-Type': 'text/plain')
res.end "Hello World\n"
.listen 1337 "127.0.0.1"
console.log 'Server running at http://127.0.0.1:1337/'
The canonical 99 beers on the wall:
sing (n) bottlesOfBeerOnTheWall =
if (n > 0)
console.log ((n) bottlesOfBeerOnTheWall)
sing (n - 1) bottlesOfBeerOnTheWall
(n) bottlesOfBeerOnTheWall =
"#((n) bottles) of beer on the wall, #((n) bottles) of beer.\n" +
"Take one down, pass it around, #((n - 1) bottles) of beer on the wall."
(n) bottles =
if (n == 0)
"no bottles"
else if (n == 1)
"1 bottle"
else
"#(n) bottles"
sing 99 bottlesOfBeerOnTheWall
The Big Features
Arguments and Parameters
Arguments and parameters can be placed anywhere in the name of a function or method call. The careful placement of an argument or a parameter can give it a lot of meaning.
mountains = ['Everest', 'La Tournette', 'Valuga']
for each @(mountain) in (mountains)
console.log (mountain)
Blocks
Blocks are just indented code:
after (duration, doSomething) =
setTimeout (doSomething, duration)
(n) seconds =
n * 1000
after (10 seconds)
console.log "hi there!"
Self
The self variable, also known as this in JavaScript, is retained from a block's outer context:
jack = {
name = "Jack"
sayHello () =
console.log "hi, my name is #(self.name)"
after (10 seconds)
console.log "hi! this is #(self.name) again."
}
jack.sayHello ()
But if you want and expect self to be redefined to something useful, put => before the block like so:
onEachHttpRequest (action, port: 3000) =
server = http.createServer @(request, response)
requestContext = {
request = request
response = response
}
action.call (requestContext)
server.listen (port)
onEachHttpRequest =>
self.response.end "Hello World\n"
Optional Arguments
Methods and functions can take optional arguments, in the form of a hash passed as the last argument.
webServer (port: 4567) =
console.log "starting web server on port #(port)"
webServer ()
webServer (port: 3000)
No Built-in Keywords
There are no keywords in PogoScript. All control structures use the same syntax rules as regular functions and methods, so it's very easy to write your own control structures:
unless (condition, block) =
if (!condition)
block ()
unless (windSpeed > 25)
console.log "going surfing"
What about a multi-line control structure?
renderEachIn (list, render) ifNone (none) =
if (list.length > 0)
content = ''
for each @(item) in (items)
content := content + render (item)
content
else
none ()
mountains = ['Everest', 'La Tournette', 'Valuga']
renderEach @(mountain) in (mountains)
"<li>#(mountain)</li>"
ifNone
"<li>no mountains...</li>"
More
joshski has put together a page showing how PogoScript translates into JavaScript. You can examine the cheatsheet, or head to the home page page.