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FlavorLang Tutorial: A Beginner's Guide

Welcome to FlavorLang! This tutorial will guide you through the fundamentals of this cooking-inspired programming language. We'll start with the basics and gradually move on towards more advanced features.

Table of Contents

  1. Getting Started
  2. Variables and Constants
  3. Basic Output and Input
  4. Data Types
  5. Control Flow
  6. Functions
  7. Error Handling
  8. Working with Arrays
  9. File Operations
  10. Standard Library Functions
  11. Imports & Exports

Getting Started

FlavorLang is a programming language that uses cooking-inspired syntax to make programming more approachable & fun. Files use the .flv extension.

Let's start with the classic "Hello, World!" program:

serve("Hello, world!");

Variables and Constants

Variables

Use let to declare variables that can be modified:

let name = "Chef";
let age = 25;
serve("Hello,", name);  # Output: Hello, Chef

Constants

Use const for values that shouldn't change:

const PI = 3.14159;
const RESTAURANT_NAME = "Flavor House";

Basic Output and Input

Output with serve

serve is FlavorLang's print function. It has some special features:

serve("Basic output");               # Adds newline by default
serve("No newline", False);          # Doesn't add newline
serve("Multiple", "values", "work"); # Spaces between values

Input with sample

Use sample() to get user input:

let favorite = sample("What's your favorite dish?");
serve("Ah,", favorite, "is delicious!");

Data Types

FlavorLang supports these basic data types:

  • Strings: "Hello"
  • Integers: 42
  • Floats: 3.14
  • Booleans: True, False

Type conversion functions:

let num_str = "123";
let num = int(num_str);      # String to integer
let float_num = float("3.14"); # String to float
let str_num = string(42);    # Number to string

Control Flow

If Statements

let temperature = 180;

if temperature > 180 {
    serve("Too hot!");
} elif temperature == 180 {
    serve("Perfect temperature!");
} else {
    serve("Too cold!");
}

Loops

For Loops

for loops allow you to iterate over a range or a collection.

Iterating Over a Range

You can use the range operator (exclusive .. or inclusive ..=) to specify the start & end of the loop. Use the optional by keyword to specify a step:

# Count up
for i in 1..5 {
    serve(i);  # Counts: 1, 2, 3, 4
}

# Count down
for i in 10..=1 by -2 {
    serve(i);  # Counts: 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
}
Iterating Over an Array
let recipes = ["Cake", "Cookies", "Pasta"];

for recipe in recipes {
    serve("Preparing:", recipe);
}

serve("All recipes are ready!");

While Loops

while loops allow you to iterate whilst a condition holds True.

let ingredients = 3;

while ingredients > 0 {
    serve("Adding ingredient...");
    ingredients = ingredients - 1;
}

Switch-Case (check-is)

const dish = "pasta";

check dish {
    is "pasta":
        serve("Italian cuisine!");
        break;
    is "sushi":
        serve("Japanese cuisine!");
        break;
    else:
        serve("Unknown cuisine!");
}

Functions

Functions in FlavorLang are created using the create keyword and can return values using deliver:

create add_ingredients(a, b) {
    deliver a + b;  # Must use deliver for returning values
}

create mix_ingredients(ingredients) {
    serve("Mixing:", ingredients);
    # No deliver = void return (implicit)
}

# Using the functions
let result = add_ingredients(5, 3);
serve(result);  # Output: 8

mix_ingredients("flour and water");

Error Handling

Use try, rescue, and optionally finish for error handling:

try {
    let number = int("not a number");
    serve("This won't run!");
} rescue {
    serve("Oops! Couldn't convert to number.");
} finish {
    serve("This always runs!");
}

Raise errors using burn:

create check_temperature(temp) {
    if temp > 200 {
        burn("Temperature too high!", temp);
    }
    serve("Temperature is OK:", temp);
}

Working with Arrays

Arrays in FlavorLang support various operations:

# Creating arrays
let ingredients = ["flour", "sugar", "eggs"];

# Accessing elements
serve(ingredients[0]);  # Output: flour

# Array operations
ingredients[^+] = "milk";    # Append
ingredients[+^] = "butter";  # Prepend
serve(ingredients[-^]);      # Remove and return first element
serve(ingredients[^-]);      # Remove and return last element

# Slicing
serve(ingredients[1:3]);     # Elements from index 1 to 2
serve(ingredients[::-1]);    # Reverse array
serve(ingredients[::2]);     # Every second element

# 2D arrays
let recipe_matrix = [
    ["Cake", "60 min"],
    ["Cookies", "25 min"]
];
serve(recipe_matrix[0][1]);  # Output: 60 min

File Operations

FlavorLang provides three main file operations:

# Writing to a file
plate_file("recipe.txt", "Flour: 2 cups\nSugar: 1 cup");

# Appending to a file
garnish_file("recipe.txt", "\nEggs: 2");

# Reading from a file
let recipe = taste_file("recipe.txt");
serve(recipe);

Standard Library Functions

FlavorLang includes several useful built-in functions:

# Random numbers
let random_float = random();       # 0.0 to 1.0
let random_int = random(10);       # 0 to 10
let random_range = random(5, 10);  # 5 to 10

# Time operations
let timestamp = get_time();        # Unix timestamp

# Array/String length
let len = length("Hello");         # 5

# Delay execution
sleep(1000);                       # Pause for 1 second

Modules: Imports & Exports

FlavorLang supports modularity so you can split your code into separate files and only expose what’s necessary!

Exporting

Use the export keyword to mark functions, variables, or constants as public. Items declared without export remain private to the file.

export create triple(x) {
    deliver x * 3;
}

create hiddenFunc() {}

export let someVar = triple(5);

Importing

To use exported items in another file, use the import keyword at the beginning of the file.

import "24_export.flv";

serve(someVar);       # Output: 15
serve(hiddenFunc());  # This won't work!

This tutorial covers the main features of FlavorLang. You can now start creating your own programs using these culinary programming concepts! Remember that like cooking, programming gets better with practice, so don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of these features.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License — see the LICENSE file for details.

© 2024-2025 Kenneth Oliver. All rights reserved.