GSET
Core Concepts

Portability

The implemented/planned legend, the portable subset, and how to read the guarantee.

Every page in this guide claims a level of support for each feature. This page is the legend.

The badge legend

BadgeMeaning
ImplementedThe feature exists in a code generator and is verified for at least the listed targets. Page examples were run end-to-end, outputs included.
Planned / PartialParsed, stubbed, or designed, but not fully generated (e.g. class method bodies, import/export emission, Go try/catch). Running it today may produce a runtime or compile error — never a hang.

"Implemented" always means implemented per the caveats printed on that page. GSET is honest about what its dynamic-typing IR can and can't do on typed targets.

The five-target portable core

This subset runs unchanged on go, python, javascript, java, ruby (with the typed rules below):

var name     = "World"          -- string
var count    = 3                -- integer
var scores   = {"Ada": 90}      -- map
var nums     = [1, 2, 3]        -- array
print("Hello, " + name)         -- print
while count > 0 {               -- loop
    print(count)
    count = count - 1
}

Rules that keep it portable:

  1. Declare before assign (var x = 42, not x = 42) — required by Go.
  2. Type the math for Go/Java (var n int = 5; untyped n * n breaks Go).
  3. Give function params types for Go (function square(n int) int).
  4. Avoid Go-only or Java-only constructs — try/catch for Go, and class method bodies everywhere.

Per-target feature matrix

FeaturePythonJSGoJavaRuby
print + aliases✅✅✅✅✅
var / assignment✅✅✅¹✅¹✅
arrays, index, maps, foreach✅✅✅✅✅
if/elif/else✅✅✅✅✅
match / switch✅✅✅✅✅
while / for / do-while✅✅✅✅✅
functions, return, lambdas✅✅✅³✅³✅
try/catch/finally✅✅❌⁴partial✅
throw✅✅❌❌✅
list comprehensions✅✅✅❌✅
classes (method bodies)❌❌❌❌❌

¹ Go/Java require var-first and typed annotations for assignment-heavy code. ³ Typed (int) parameters required for Go; Java uses var inference. ⁴ Go has no exceptions; try emits invalid Go by design.

Why GSET is honest about it

The original readme promised an "any-language, all-configured" experience. GSET's reality: five emitters, a shared dynamic subset, and typed targets that demand annotations. Rather than over-claim, this guide marks exactly what runs — verified by running it.

Configuration

gset.conf — keyword aliases, compiler overrides, and run pipelines.

CLI Reference

gset run, gset transpile, flags, targets, and exit codes.

On this page

The badge legendThe five-target portable corePer-target feature matrixWhy GSET is honest about it