Quick Start

Implemented

This page is a task-oriented tour. You will install → create → transpile → run.

1. Install

Install GSET (go build -o gset . if you cloned the repo), then confirm:

gset version      # GSET v2.2.1
gset help

Create hello.gset:

print("Hello, GSET!")

See the generated source without running it:

$ gset transpile hello.gset
package main

func main() {
    fmt.Println("Hello, GSET!")
}

.gset files default to the Go target. Pick another target explicitly:

$ gset transpile hello.gset --target python
print("Hello, GSET!")

$ gset transpile hello.gset --target javascript
console.log("Hello, GSET!")

Save output to a file with -o:

gset transpile hello.gset --target js -o hello.js

$ gset run hello.gset
Hello, GSET!

gset run transpiles and executes with the target toolchain in one step. Because hello.gset is a .gset file it runs on the Go target by default.

GSET decides the target from the file extension, unless you pass --target:

Input file	Implied target	Override example
`hello.gset`	Go (the default IR)	`gset run hello.gset --target python`
`hello.py`	Python	`gset run hello.py --target go`
`hello.js`	JavaScript	—
`hello.java`	Java	—
`hello.rb`	Ruby	—
`hello.go`	Go	—

So the file extension does not force the output language — it only picks the default. --target always wins.

Count down from a variable, plus a loop and a string concatenation:

var name = "World"
var count = 3
print("Hello, " + name)
while count > 0 {
    print(count)
    count = count - 1
}

$ gset run hello.gset --target python
Hello, World
3
2
1

$ gset run hello.gset --target javascript
Hello, World
3
2
1

The same program runs unchanged on go, python, javascript, java, and ruby targets. See Portability.

Parse error → GSET prints the offending lines before running anything.
Transpile error → you asked for a target that has no emitter (--target c).
Execution error → the target toolchain (e.g. Python) rejected the generated code, or the runtime isn't installed.

Diagnosing these is covered in Errors.