Syntax Basics

This page documents the core language syntax of RayQuiro 0.1.0.

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📄 Source Files

RayQuiro source files use the .rq extension:

main.rq
hello.rq
game.rq

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💬 Comments

Single-Line Comments

// this is a comment
var name = "RayQuiro"; // inline comment

Block Comments

/*
  This is a multi-line comment.
  Useful for documentation blocks.
*/
print("hello");

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🔤 Strings

Normal Strings

var name = "RayQuiro";
var greeting = "Hello, World!";

Supported escape sequences:

Escape	Meaning
\n	Newline
\t	Tab
\"	Double-quote literal
\\	Backslash literal

Triple-Quoted Multiline Strings

0.1.0 supports triple-quoted ("""...""") strings, ideal for embedding HTML, JSON templates, or multiline text:

var html = """
<section class="hero">
  <h1>RayQuiro</h1>
  <p>Write content directly.</p>
</section>
""";

This is especially useful with web.html(...) and web.style(...).

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🔢 Numbers

Integer and decimal literals:

var a = 12;
var b = 3.14;
var c = 0;
var d = -99.5;

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✅ Booleans And Null

var online = true;
var done = false;
var value = null;

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📦 Variables

var — Mutable Binding

var score = 0;
score = score + 1;

let — Read-Only Binding

let title = "RayQuiro";
// title = "other";  // This would cause an error

---

🔧 Functions

Declare functions with fn:

fn greet(name) {
    return "Hello, " + name;
}

print(greet("World"));

Multiple parameters:

fn clamp_score(value, min_val, max_val) {
    if (value < min_val) { return min_val; }
    if (value > max_val) { return max_val; }
    return value;
}

Functions are first-class values and can be stored in variables:

fn double(x) {
    return x * 2;
}

var transform = double;
print(transform(5));  // 10

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🌊 Control Flow

if / else if / else

if (score > 90) {
    print("Grade A");
} else if (score > 70) {
    print("Grade B");
} else {
    print("Grade C");
}

while

var i = 0;
while (i < 5) {
    print(i);
    i = i + 1;
}

for

for (var i = 0; i < 5; i = i + 1) {
    print(i);
}

Omitting parts is allowed:

var i = 0;
for (; i < 3; i = i + 1) {
    print(i);
}

break and continue

for (var i = 0; i < 10; i = i + 1) {
    if (i == 3) { continue; }
    if (i == 7) { break; }
    print(i);
}

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🗃️ Arrays

Declare with square brackets:

var items = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
var colors = ["red", "green", "blue"];
var rgba = [98, 204, 255, 255];

Access by index:

print(items[0]);  // 1
print(colors[2]); // "blue"

String indexing works the same way:

print("Ray"[0]);  // "R"

JSON-parsed tables can be indexed like objects:

var info = json.parse("{\"name\":\"RayQuiro\"}");
print(info["name"]);  // "RayQuiro"

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➗ Operators

Arithmetic

Operator	Description
+	Addition (also string concatenation)
-	Subtraction
*	Multiplication
/	Division
%	Modulo (remainder)

Comparison

Operator	Description
==	Equal to
!=	Not equal to
<	Less than
<=	Less than or equal to
>	Greater than
>=	Greater than or equal to

Logical

Operator	Description
!	Logical NOT
&&	Logical AND
||	Logical OR

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📏 Truthiness Rules

The following values are treated as falsy:

• null
• false
• 0
• Empty string ""
• Empty array []
• Empty object-like runtime value

Everything else is truthy.

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📝 Core Built-In Functions

Output

print("hello", 42, true);    // prints multiple values separated by spaces
log.info => "log message";   // alternative log-style syntax

Type Conversion

str(42)         // "42"
num("3.14")     // 3.14
bool(1)         // true
type("hello")   // "string"

Arrays

Function	Description
len(value)	Length of string, array, or table
push(array, value)	Append a value to an array
pop(array)	Remove and return the last element
range(end)	Integer array [0..end-1]
range(start, end)	Integer array [start..end-1]
range(start, end, step)	Stepped integer array

Strings

Function	Description
join(array, sep)	Join array elements as a string
split(text, sep)	Split a string into an array
upper(text)	Uppercase
lower(text)	Lowercase
trim(text)	Strip surrounding whitespace
replace(text, needle, rep)	Replace occurrences
slice(value, start, end)	Slice an array or string
contains(value, search)	Returns true if found

Math

Function	Description
floor(n)	Round down
ceil(n)	Round up
round(n)	Round to nearest integer
min(a, b, ...)	Minimum of values
max(a, b, ...)	Maximum of values
clamp(v, min, max)	Clamp value between bounds

Random

Function	Description
random()	Float in [0, 1)
random(max)	Float in [0, max)
random(min, max)	Float in [min, max)
random.int()	Random integer
random.int(max)	Integer in [0, max)
random.int(min, max)	Integer in [min, max)

Time

Function	Description
sleep(ms)	Block for ms milliseconds
clock.ms()	Runtime clock in milliseconds

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✍️ Semicolons

All statements should end with a semicolon:

var name = "RayQuiro";
print(name);

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🧪 Example: Full Language Demo

var nums = range(1, 6);
push(nums, 9);

print("Length:", len(nums));
print("Joined:", join(nums, ", "));
print("Slice:", slice(nums, 1, 4));
print("Contains 3:", contains(nums, 3));
print("Random:", random(10, 20));
print("Dice:", random.int(1, 6));

fn describe(value) {
    if (value > 15) {
        return "high";
    } else if (value > 10) {
        return "medium";
    } else {
        return "low";
    }
}

var r = random(5, 20);
print("Roll:", r, "is", describe(r));