Soml Syntax

Top level Class and methods

The top level declarations in a file may only be class definitions

class Dictionary < Object
  int add(Object o)
    ... statements
  end
end

The class hierarchy is explained in here,

Methods must be typed, both arguments and return. Generally class names serve as types, but “int” can be used as a shortcut for Integer.

Code may not be outside method definitions, like in ruby. A compiled program starts at the builtin method init, Space.main

Classes are represented by class objects (instances of class Class to be precise) and methods by Method objects, so all information is available at runtime.

Expressions

Soml distinguishes between expressions and statements. Expressions have value, statements perform an action. Both are compiled to Register level instructions for the current method. Generally speaking expressions store their value in a register and statements store those values elsewhere, possibly after operating on them.

The subsections below correspond roughly to the parsers rule names.

Basic expressions are numbers (integer or float), strings or names, either variable, argument, field or class names. (normal details applicable). Special names include self (the current receiver), and message (the currently executed method frame). These all resolve to a register with contents.

  23
  "hi there"
  argument_name
  Object

A field access resolves to the fields value at the time. Fields must be defined by field definitions, and are basically instance variables, but not hidden (see below). The example below shows how to define local variables at the same time. Notice chaining, both for field access and call, is not allowed.

  Type l = self.type
  Class  c = l.object_class
  Word   n = c.name

A Call expression is a method call that resolves to the methods return value. If no receiver is specified, self (the current receiver) is used. The receiver may be any of the basic expressions above, so also class instances. The receiver type is known at compile time, as are all argument types, so the class of the receiver is searched for a matching method. Many methods of the same name may exist, but to issue a call, an exact match for the arguments must be found.

  Class c = self.get_class()
  c.get_super_class()

An operator expression is a binary expression, with either of the other expressions as left and right operand, and an operator symbol between them. Operand types must be integer. The symbols allowed are normal arithmetic and logical operations.

   a + b
   counter | 255
   mask >> shift

Operator expressions may be used in assignments and conditions, but not in calls, where the result would have to be assigned beforehand. This is one of those cases where soml’s low level approach shines through, as soml has no auto-generated temporary variables.

Statements

We have seen the top level statements above. In methods the most interesting statements relate to flow control and specifically how conditionals are expressed. This differs somewhat from other languages, in that the condition is expressed explicitly (not implicitly like in c or ruby). This lets the programmer express more precisely what is tested, and also opens an extensible framework for more tests than available in other languages. Specifically overflow may be tested in soml, without dropping down to assembler.

An if statement is started with the keyword if_ and then contains the branch type. The branch type may be plus, minus, zero, nonzero or overflow. If may be continued with en else, end

  if_zero(a - 5)
    ....
  else
    ....
  end

A while statement is very much like an if, with off course the normal loop semantics, and without the possible else.

  while_plus( counter )
    ....
  end

A return statement return a value from the current functions. There are no void functions.

return 5

A field definition is to declare an instance variable on an object. It starts with the keyword field, must be in class (not method) scope and may not be assigned to.

class Class < Object
  field List instance_methods
  field Type object_type
  field Word name
  ...
end

A local variable definition declares, and possibly assigns to, a local variable. Local variables are stored in frame objects, in fact they are instance variables of the current frame object. When resolving a name, the compiler checks argument names first, and then local variables.

int counter = 0

Any of the expressions may be assigned to the variable at the time of definition. After a variable is defined it may be assigned to with an assignment statement any number of times. The assignment is like an assignment during definition, without the leading type.

  counter = 0

Any of the expressions, basic, call, operator, field access, may be assigned.

Code generation and scope

Compiling generates two results simultaneously. The more obvious is code for a function, but also an object structure of classes etc that capture the declarations. To understand the code part better the register abstraction should be studied, and to understand the object structure the runtime.

The register machine abstraction is very simple, and so is the code generation, in favour of a simple model. Especially in the area of register assignment, there is no magic and only a few simple rules.

The main one of those concerns main memory access ordering and states that object memory must be consistent at the end of the statement. Since there is only only object memory in soml, this concerns all assignments, since all variables are either named or indexed members of objects. Also local variables are just members of the frame.

This obviously does leave room for optimisations as preliminary benchmarks show. But benchmarks also show that it is not such a bit issue and much more benefit can be achieved by inlining.