Announcing Vexon 0.4

 

Announcing Vexon 0.4: From Interpreter to Ecosystem

We are excited to unveil Vexon 0.4, the most significant update to the language yet. This release transitions Vexon from a simple tree-walking interpreter into a robust, bytecode-driven environment capable of building real-world applications.

Whether you are looking for better performance, asynchronous capabilities, or the ability to distribute your code as standalone executables, Vexon 0.4 delivers.

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🚀 Key Features in 0.4

📦 Native Compilation to EXE

The biggest addition in this update is the new Vexon CLI. You can now take any .vx source file and compile it into a standalone Windows executable.

• Command: node vexon_cli.js compile <file.vx>.

• How it works: Vexon packages your source code, the bytecode generator, and a Node.js runtime into a single .exe using pkg, making distribution easier than ever.

⏳ Asynchronous Power: Sleep & Timers

Vexon now supports non-blocking operations, allowing for more complex logic like polling or scheduled tasks.

• sleep(ms): Pause execution without locking the host process.

• setTimeout & setInterval: Schedule Vexon functions to run later or repeatedly.

• clearTimeout & clearInterval: Full control over your scheduled tasks.

🛡️ Robust Error Handling

Writing reliable code is now possible with the introduction of a complete Try/Catch system.

• Unwinding: The VM now features a tryStack that allows the engine to safely unwind frames and recover from errors.

• Custom Exceptions: Use the throw keyword to trigger error handling logic.

• Native Wrappers: Even native JavaScript errors are caught and surfaced as Vexon error objects to prevent the VM from crashing.

🌐 Improved Networking with fetch

The fetch builtin has been overhauled to be more portable.

• It automatically detects the best available method: native Node 18+ fetch, node-fetch, or a built-in https fallback.

• It now returns a comprehensive object containing status, headers, text, and automatically parsed json.

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🛠️ Under the Hood: Performance & Safety

The Vexon VM is now "hardened" for production-style environments:

• Instruction Watchdog: A new maxTicks safety limit prevents infinite loops from freezing your system.

• Smart Logical Operators: && and || now support short-circuit evaluation, improving both speed and safety.

• Circular-Safe Imports: The module system has been refined to handle complex file relationships without double-loading.

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Getting Started

To run your first Vexon 0.4 program:

1. Ensure you have the new vexon_core.js and vexon_cli.js in your directory.

2. Run your file directly: node vexon_cli.js run main.vx.

3. Or compile it: node vexon_cli.js compile main.vx.

What will you build with Vexon 0.4? We can't wait to see your projects!