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diff --git a/content/blog/2023-02-02-exploring-hare.md b/content/blog/2023-02-02-exploring-hare.md index 15c448c..1424aff 100644 --- a/content/blog/2023-02-02-exploring-hare.md +++ b/content/blog/2023-02-02-exploring-hare.md @@ -7,87 +7,80 @@ draft = false # A Quick Note -By no means am I a professional developer, so this post will be rather -short. I won\'t be going into depth on the specification or anything -that technical. +By no means am I a professional developer, so this post will be rather short. I +won't be going into depth on the specification or anything that technical. -Instead, I will simply be talking about how I (a relatively basic -hobbyist programmer) have been playing with Hare and what intrigues me -about the language. +Instead, I will simply be talking about how I (a relatively basic hobbyist +programmer) have been playing with Hare and what intrigues me about the +language. # Hare -The [Hare](https://harelang.org) programming language is a -straightforward language that should look familiar if you\'ve ever -programmed with C, Rust, or other languages that aim to build software -at the system-level. +The [Hare](https://harelang.org) programming language is a straightforward +language that should look familiar if you've ever programmed with C, Rust, or +other languages that aim to build software at the system-level. The Hare homepage states the following: -> Hare is a systems programming language designed to be simple, stable, -> and robust. Hare uses a static type system, manual memory management, -> and minimal runtime. It is well-suited to writing operating systems, -> system tools, compilers, networking software, and other low-level, -> high performance tasks. +> Hare is a systems programming language designed to be simple, stable, and +> robust. Hare uses a static type system, manual memory management, and minimal +> runtime. It is well-suited to writing operating systems, system tools, +> compilers, networking software, and other low-level, high performance tasks. -I have found this all to be true while playing with it for the first -time today. In the next few sections, I\'m going to walk through my -installation and first program. +I have found this all to be true while playing with it for the first time today. +In the next few sections, I'm going to walk through my installation and first +program. ## Installation -I\'m currently running Alpine Linux on my Thinkpad, so the installation -was quite easy as there is a package for Hare in the `apk` -repositories. +I'm currently running Alpine Linux on my Thinkpad, so the installation was +quite easy as there is a package for Hare in the `apk` repositories. ```sh doas apk add hare hare-doc ``` -However, I was able to install Hare from scratch on Fedora Linux a short -while ago, which was also very easy to do. If you need further -instructions and Hare doesn\'t have a package on your system, take a -look at the [Hare Installation](https://harelang.org/installation/) -page. +However, I was able to install Hare from scratch on Fedora Linux a short while +ago, which was also very easy to do. If you need further instructions and Hare +doesn't have a package on your system, take a look at the [Hare +Installation](https://harelang.org/installation/) page. ## Creating a Test Project In order to play with the language, I created -[hare-test](https://git.sr.ht/~cmc/hare-projects) and will be putting -any of my Hare-related adventures in here. +[hare-test](https://git.sr.ht/~cmc/hare-projects) and will be putting any of my +Hare-related adventures in here. -> **Update:\*** I also created a simple Hare program for creating a file -> from user input: +> **Update:** I also created a simple Hare program for creating a file from user +> input: > [files.ha](https://git.sr.ht/~cmc/hare-projects/tree/main/item/files/files.ha) -Luckily, Hare doesn\'t require any complex set-up tools or build -environment. Once you have Hare installed, you simply need to create a -file ending with `.ha` and you can run a Hare program. +Luckily, Hare doesn't require any complex set-up tools or build environment. +Once you have Hare installed, you simply need to create a file ending with `.ha` +and you can run a Hare program. -I created a file called `rgb.ha` in order to test out the -random number generation and passing parameters between functions. +I created a file called `rgb.ha` in order to test out the random number +generation and passing parameters between functions. ```sh nano rgb.ha ``` -Within this file, I was able to easily import a few of the [standard -library modules](https://harelang.org/tutorials/stdlib/): -`fmt`, `math::random`, and `datetime`. +Within this file, I was able to easily import a few of the [standard library +modules](https://harelang.org/tutorials/stdlib/): `fmt`, `math::random`, and +`datetime`. With these modules, I created two functions: -1. `main`: This function calls the `generate_rgb` - function and then prints out the returned values. -2. `generate_rgb`: This function uses the current Unix epoch - time to generate a pseudo-random value and uses this value to create - three more random values between 0 and 255. These three numbers - represent a color in RGB format. +1. `main`: This function calls the `generate_rgb` function and then prints out + the returned values. +2. `generate_rgb`: This function uses the current Unix epoch time to generate a + pseudo-random value and uses this value to create three more random values + between 0 and 255. These three numbers represent a color in RGB format. -> **Note**: Some syntax coloring may look odd, as Zola currently -> doesn\'t have a syntax highlighting theme for Hare. Instead, I\'m -> using the C theme, which may not be exactly accurate when coloring the -> code below. +> **Note**: Some syntax coloring may look odd, as Zola currently doesn't have a +> syntax highlighting theme for Hare. Instead, I'm using the C theme, which may +> not be exactly accurate when coloring the code below. ```c use datetime; @@ -120,8 +113,7 @@ fn generate_rgb() []u64 = { ## Running a Program -Once you have a Hare file written and ready to run, you simply need to -run it: +Once you have a Hare file written and ready to run, you simply need to run it: ```sh hare run file.ha @@ -136,37 +128,34 @@ hare build -o example file.ha ## Initial Thoughts -1. Documentation Improvements Would Help +1. Documentation Improvements Would Help - While I was able to piece everything together eventually, the - biggest downfall right now in Hare\'s documentation. For such a new - project, the documentation is in a great spot. However, bare - specifications don\'t help as much as a brief examples section - would. + While I was able to piece everything together eventually, the biggest + downfall right now in Hare's documentation. For such a new project, the + documentation is in a great spot. However, bare specifications don't help + as much as a brief examples section would. - For example, it took me a while to figure out what the - `u64n` function was looking for. I could tell that it - took two parameters and the second was my max value (255), but - couldn\'t figure out what the first value should be. Eventually, I - inspected the `random.ha` file in the [Hare source + For example, it took me a while to figure out what the `u64n` function was + looking for. I could tell that it took two parameters and the second was my + max value (255), but couldn't figure out what the first value should be. + Eventually, I inspected the `random.ha` file in the [Hare source code](https://git.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/hare/tree/master/item/math/random/random.ha) - and found the test suite that helped me discover that it needed an - `init()` value in the form of `&var`. + and found the test suite that helped me discover that it needed an `init()` + value in the form of `&var`. -2. More Basic Modules +2. More Basic Modules - This is another point that comes from Hare being new and awaiting - more contributions, but there are some basic functions that I would - personally enjoy seeing in Hare, such as one to convert decimal - (base 10) values to hexadecimal (base 16). + This is another point that comes from Hare being new and awaiting more + contributions, but there are some basic functions that I would personally + enjoy seeing in Hare, such as one to convert decimal (base 10) values to + hexadecimal (base 16). - If I\'m feeling comfortable with my math, I may work on the list of - functions I want and see if any can make it into the Hare source - code. + If I'm feeling comfortable with my math, I may work on the list of + functions I want and see if any can make it into the Hare source code. -3. Overall Thoughts +3. Overall Thoughts - Overall, I actually really enjoy Hare. It\'s not as tedious to get a - project up and running as Rust, but it\'s also simpler and more - user-friendly than learning C. I am going to continue playing with - it and see if I can make anything of particular value. + Overall, I actually really enjoy Hare. It's not as tedious to get a project + up and running as Rust, but it's also simpler and more user-friendly than + learning C. I am going to continue playing with it and see if I can make + anything of particular value. |