Mora

A hand-written compiler for a modern systems programming language, built in C++23.

⚠️ Early stage — lexer implemented, parser and interpreter in development.

Language Features (planned)

Mora is a statically-typed language inspired by Rust and Elixir:

Feature	Syntax	Status
Immutable bindings	let x = 5	Planned
Functions	fn add(a: Int, b: Int) -> Int { a + b }	Planned
Pattern matching	match value { ... }	Planned
Structs & Enums	struct Point { x, y }	Planned
Traits & Impls	trait Show { fn show() } — impl Show for Point { ... }	Planned
Pipe operator	`data	> transform
Raw strings	r#"raw text"#	Lexer done
Format strings	f"Hello, {name}!"	Lexer done
Macros	macro!()	Planned

Architecture

Source → Scanner → Tokens → Parser → AST → Interpreter
  ✅        ✅        ✅       🚧      🚧        🚧

Lexer (implemented)

• Hand-written scanner, no generator tools
• Full Unicode support (char32_t)
• Raw strings, format strings, block comments
• Error recovery with accumulated diagnostics

Parser & Interpreter (planned)

• Recursive descent parser
• Tree-walking interpreter
• Arena allocator for AST nodes

Tech Stack

• C++23 — std::string_view, designated initializers, modern CMake
• CMake 3.24+ — build system
• Catch2 v3 — testing framework
• Zero external dependencies for the compiler core

Build

cmake -B build -S .
cmake --build build

# Run the lexer
./build/mora example.mora

# Run tests
cd build && ctest

Why "Mora"?

From the Latin mora ("delay, pause") — the compiler pauses to understand your code before executing it. Also a nod to the metrical unit in poetry: structure before meaning.

License

MIT