# Singular

> Singular is a compiled, memory-safe programming language. It's designed to run as fast as C, to be as safe as Rust, and to be much easier to read and learn than either. Every value has one owner, there are no pointers, and every name is declared with its type.

- Version: v0.1 design draft. Everything can change.
- Status: the parser works (`sing check` reports syntax errors). The interpreter is in progress.
- Source files use the extension `.sing`. The toolchain is one command, `sing`.
- The full language spec and a detailed guide for AI models will be published here later. Until then, the example programs are the best reference: https://singular-lang.dev/examples/

## The idea in one paragraph

Every value has one owner. A function can **view** what you pass it, which is the default, **edit** it, or **move** it (take it for good). `edit` and `move` are written at the call site too, so `f(x)` never changes `x`, `f(edit x)` might, and after `f(move x)` the variable `x` is gone. You can tell what happens to every variable from the line it's on, and every name is declared with its type, so you can always tell what it is.

Views can't be stored or returned. That means all safety checking happens inside one function at a time, so there are no lifetime annotations, no garbage collector, and no hidden copies.

## Design choices at a glance

| Singular | Instead of |
|---|---|
| `Int score = 0`, with `const` in front for names that never change | `let`/`var` and types you have to guess |
| No pointers: `*` only ever means multiply | `*p`, `&x`, `**`, `->` |
| `edit` and `move` written at the call site, with view as the default | Lifetimes, `&`, `&mut`, `Box`, `Rc<RefCell<T>>` |
| `Arena[T]` + `Handle[T]` for linked data | Reference-counted pointer graphs |
| `raises E`, `try` and `catch` | Exceptions you can't see, or `Result` plus a "fallible" twin of every helper |
| `comptime` values, `[comptime Int N]` parameters and `comptime if` | Macros and build scripts |
| Braces, no semicolons, one formatter | Significant indentation or style debates |
| `and`, `or`, `not`, `any Trait` | `&&`, `\|\|`, `!`, `dyn Trait` |
| Types `UpperCamelCase`, values `lower_snake_case` (enforced) | Guessing what a name refers to |
| Stable error codes with fixes, and JSON output for tools and AI agents | Error text you have to scrape |

## Docs

- [Examples](https://singular-lang.dev/examples/): example programs in order, each with the output it must print.