IOZEN 🔷

Safe, expressive systems programming with natural language syntax

IOZEN reads like English, compiles like C, performs like Rust.

Getting Started • Documentation • Examples

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What is IOZEN?

IOZEN is a systems programming language that combines natural language syntax with native performance. Code reads like English but compiles to efficient C code and native binaries.

# Hello World in IOZEN
print "Hello, World!"

# Variables
create variable message as text with value "Welcome to IOZEN"
print message

# Functions
function greet takes name as text returns nothing
    print "Hello, " attach name attach "!"
end

greet "Developer"

Key Features

• 🚀 Native Performance — Compiles to C code and native binaries (100x faster than interpreted)
• 📝 Readable Syntax — Natural English-like code that's self-documenting
• 📦 Package Manager — Built-in dependency management with iozen.json
• 🛡️ Type Safety — Static type checking with explicit type annotations
• 🔧 Modern Tooling — CLI with run, compile, build, and interactive REPL

Key Principles

• Clarity first — Code should read like prose; create variable x as integer with value 42
• Zero-cost abstractions — High-level constructs compile to efficient machine code
• Fast feedback — Interpret for development, compile for production
• Growing ecosystem — Package manager and standard library included

Quick Start

Install

# Using Bun (recommended)
bun add -g iozen-lang

# Or clone for development
git clone https://github.com/oxyzenQ/iozen-lang.git
cd iozen-lang

Create Your First Program

# Create a new project
iozen init hello_world
cd hello_world

# Project structure:
# hello_world/
# ├── iozen.json      # Project manifest
# ├── main.iozen      # Entry point
# ├── README.md       # Project readme
# └── iozen_modules/  # Dependencies

Run and Compile

# Run interpreted (fast feedback)
iozen run main.iozen

# Compile to native binary (production)
iozen compile main.iozen --target binary --output hello
./hello

Performance boost: Compiled binaries are 100x faster than interpreted code! 🚀

v1.0 Features 🎉

IOZEN v1.0 is a complete, usable programming language with:

Core Language ✅

• Variables: Explicit type declarations with create variable
• Functions: Parameters, return types, recursion
• Control Flow: if/else, while, for loops with break/continue
• Arrays: Dynamic arrays with push, length, iteration
• Structs: Custom types with field access
• Modules: Import/export for code organization

Development Tools ✅

• CLI: iozen run, compile, build, init, install, list
• REPL: Interactive shell for experimentation
• Package Manager: iozen.json with dependencies
• Compiler: C backend producing native binaries

Standard Library ✅

• String: length, concat, substring, indexOf, split, join
• Math: abs, sqrt, pow, sin, cos, floor, ceil
• Array: length, push, pop
• File I/O: readFile, writeFile, fileExists, appendFile
• JSON: parseJSON, stringify

Language Examples

Variables and Types

create variable name as text with value "Alice"
create variable age as integer with value 30
create variable pi as decimal with value 3.14159
create variable active as boolean with value true

# Reassignment
assign age with value 31

Functions

function greet takes name as text returns nothing
    print "Hello, " attach name attach "!"
end

function add takes a as integer, b as integer returns integer
    return a + b
end

greet "World"
print add 5 3

Control Flow

if score >= 90 then
    print "Grade A"
otherwise if score >= 80 then
    print "Grade B"
otherwise
    print "Grade C"
end

# Loops
for i from 1 to 10 do
    print i
end

while running repeat
    # ...
end

Arrays

create var numbers as array of integer with values [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

# Access
print numbers[0]

# Iterate
for n in numbers do
    print n
end

# Modify
array_push numbers 6

Structs

type Person is
    name as text
    age as integer
end

create var p as Person
assign p.name with value "Bob"
assign p.age with value 25

print p.name attach " is " attach p.age attach " years old"

Modules

# math_utils.iozen
export function square takes x as integer returns integer
    return x * x
end

# main.iozen
use "math_utils"
print square 5

FizzBuzz — The Classic

function fizzbuzz takes n as integer returns nothing
    for i from 1 to n do
        if i mod 15 == 0 then
            print "FizzBuzz"
        otherwise if i mod 3 == 0 then
            print "Fizz"
        otherwise if i mod 5 == 0 then
            print "Buzz"
        otherwise
            print i
        end
    end
end

fizzbuzz 100

File I/O

# Read and process a file
if fileExists "data.txt" then
    create var content as text with value readFile "data.txt"
    print content
end

# Write to file
writeFile "output.txt" "Hello, File!"

# Append to log
appendFile "app.log" "New entry\n"

Features

Feature	Description	Status
Natural Language Syntax	Keywords like create variable, function, if/then/otherwise make code self-documenting	✅ v1.0
Native Compilation	Compiles to C code and native binaries (100x faster)	✅ v1.0
Type Safety	Static typing with integer, decimal, text, boolean, array	✅ v1.0
Package Manager	iozen init, install, list with iozen.json	✅ v1.0
Standard Library	String, Math, Array, File I/O, JSON functions	✅ v1.0
REPL	Interactive shell for experimentation	✅ v1.0
Memory Safety	Ownership system (v1.1+)	🔄 Planned
Borrow Checker	Compile-time borrow checking (v2.0)	📋 Future
Concurrency	Async/await (v1.3)	📋 Planned
LLVM Backend	Direct LLVM IR generation (v2.0)	📋 Future
Self-Hosting	Compiler written in IOZEN (v2.0+)	📋 Future

Language Comparison

Aspect	IOZEN	Python	Rust	C
Readability	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★☆☆	★★☆☆☆
Performance	★★★★★	★★☆☆☆	★★★★★	★★★★★
Compilation	AOT to native	Interpreted	AOT	AOT
Type Safety	Static	Dynamic	Static	Weak
Learning Curve	Low	Low	Steep	Medium
Package Manager	✅ Built-in	✅ pip	✅ cargo	❌ None
Memory Management	Manual (v1.0)	GC	Ownership	Manual
Natural Syntax	✅	Partial	❌	❌
Native Binary	✅	❌	✅	✅
FFI (C interop)	✅	Partial	✅	Native

IOZEN Positioning

IOZEN sits between Python and Rust:

• Python users: Get native performance without losing readability
• Rust users: Get similar performance with simpler syntax
• C users: Get modern features with familiar compilation model

Roadmap

v1.0 (June 2026) ✅ Current

• ✅ Core language: variables, functions, control flow, arrays, structs
• ✅ Native compilation: IOZEN → C → Binary
• ✅ Package manager: iozen.json, init, install, list
• ✅ Standard library: String, Math, File I/O, JSON
• ✅ Documentation: Complete guides and examples

v1.1 (July-Aug 2026) 🔄 Planned

• Struct field access (person.name)
• Exception handling (try/catch)
• Closures in compiled code
• Package publishing

v1.2 (Sep-Oct 2026) 📋 Planned

• LSP Server for IDE support
• Code formatter
• Debugger

v1.3 (Nov-Dec 2026) 📋 Planned

• Async/await concurrency
• FFI (call C libraries)
• Network I/O

v2.0 (2027) 🔮 Vision

• LLVM backend (no C intermediate)
• WebAssembly target
• Full borrow checker
• Self-hosting compiler

The bootstrap language (TypeScript) doesn't determine the final language. Once self-hosting is achieved, TypeScript will be discarded entirely — just as Rust bootstrapped from OCaml.

CLI Commands

# Create new project
iozen init <project-name>

# Run a program (interpreted)
iozen run <file.iozen>

# Compile to native binary
iozen compile <file.iozen> --target binary [--output <name>]

# Install dependencies
iozen install [<package-name>]

# List installed packages
iozen list

# Interactive REPL
iozen repl

# Debug: Show tokens
iozen tokens <file.iozen>

# Debug: Show AST
iozen ast <file.iozen>

# Show version
iozen version

IOZEN vs Cargo

IOZEN	Cargo	Description
iozen init myproject	cargo new myproject	Create new project
iozen run main.iozen	cargo run	Run project
iozen compile main.iozen --target binary	cargo build --release	Build release binary
iozen install	cargo install	Install dependencies
iozen list	cargo list	List packages

Standard Library

See full documentation at docs/stdlib/index.md.

Math Functions

abs, sqrt, pow, sin, cos, floor, ceil, round

String Functions

string_length, string_concat, substring, string_indexOf, string_contains, string_split, string_join

Array Functions

array_length, array_push

File I/O

readFile, writeFile, fileExists, appendFile

JSON

parseJSON, stringify

Documentation

• Getting Started - Install and first program
• Language Guide - Complete language tutorial
• Syntax Reference - Full syntax documentation
• Standard Library - Built-in functions API
• CLI Reference - Command-line tools
• Examples - Sample programs

Project Structure

iozen/
├── bootstrap/           # Self-hosting compiler components
├── docs/               # Documentation
│   ├── guide/          # Tutorials
│   ├── reference/      # Syntax reference
│   ├── stdlib/         # Standard library docs
│   ├── cli/            # CLI documentation
│   └── examples/       # Example code
├── examples/           # Example programs
│   ├── basics/         # Beginner examples
│   ├── intermediate/   # Intermediate examples
│   └── advanced/       # Advanced examples
├── iozen-cli/          # CLI implementation
│   └── src/
│       └── cli.ts      # CLI entry point
├── src/lib/iozen/      # Core language implementation
│   ├── tokenizer_v2.ts # Lexer
│   ├── parser_v2.ts    # Parser
│   ├── interpreter_v2.ts # Interpreter
│   ├── compiler/       # C backend compiler
│   └── package_manager.ts # Package manager
├── tests/              # Test suite
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── LICENSE             # MIT
├── README.md           # This file
└── ROADMAP.md          # Project roadmap

Contributing

We welcome contributions of all kinds — bug fixes, new features, documentation improvements, or even just ideas. Please read our Contributing Guide to get started.

License

IOZEN is released under the MIT License.

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Built with ❤ by the IOZEN community

IOZEN reads like English, compiles like Rust.