flart is a programming language for describing workflows or processes. because of its conciceness and flexibility it can be used as is, or compiled to graphviz DOT (when i finish the compiler). i often use it when writing pseudocode, and in fact it has helped me write this compiler.
flart programs can technically contain anything you like, although certain symbols (:, &, |, @ and ;) break them up and make them more useful.
anything that is not one of those symbols is content. this means that anything, including whitespace may exist inside a bit of content, although any whitespace following or trailing behind it is removed.
a : means that the previous bit of content is a label.
an & or a | means that the previous bit of content is a branch condition. anything between that and whichever of those we didn't encounter is body, which we'll get to later, as is anything between that and the next label or condition. the body following the & is the true branch, and the body following the | is the false branch.
an @ means that the following bit of content is a label to call. think of calling like jumping to the label, wherever it is in the program, following the process inside it, and returning to where we came from.
a ; means that the previous bit of content, if it exists, is just a bit of content separate from the following bit.
body is a list of ordinary bits of content and calls.
a program that demonstrates all of flart's features might look something like this:
lamp doesnt work:
lamp plugged in? |
plug in lamp &
bulb burnt out? &
@replace bulb |
repair lamp;
replace bulb:
remove bulb;
dispose of bulb responsibly;
install replacement bulb;
note that whitespace or indentation between symbols is irrelevant and you are free to write the program however you like.
the flart compiler is contained in main.py, which currently is not in a working state, and i am not accepting prs. when i am happier with the state of the project, perhaps i will.