var'aq Release Notes

Version Information

This is the Azetbur release, after Chancellor Gorkon's daughter and successor in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Status Summary

We are moving ahead! Console I/O (on a very rudimentary level) is here, as well as much of the mathematical functionality and string handling. Lists are not here yet, and a more robust I/O model must await a better understanding of Klingon hacker culture to understand issues like authentication and how distributed processing might be used.

This release is approaching usability. Files are not here yet (still under discussion), but there is console-level I/O and enough string support to do something useful.

j proctor from the varaq-dev mailing list has contributed some sample code and a more flexible translator program than the one I wrote and distributed. His interpreter will be found in the translators directory.

Interpreter Status

The interpreter is available with both Klingon and English keywords; however, keep in mind that maintenance is done mostly on the English version and the translator program is not ready for prime time. This will be fixed eventually.

The following keywords are currently supported:

• Control Structures
  • ifyes/HIja'chugh
  • ifno/ghobe'chugh
  • choose/wIv
  • ~ (quote/lI'moH)
  • name/pong
  • set/cher
  • repeat/vangqa'
  • eval/chov

• Stack Operations
  • pop/woD
  • dup/latlh
  • exch/tam
  • clear/chImmoH
  • remember/qaw
  • forget/qawHa'

• Arithmetic Operators
  • add/boq
  • sub/boqHa'
  • mul/boq'egh
  • div/boqHa'egh
  • mod/chuv
  • pow/law'qa'moH
  • rand/mIS
  • add1/wa'boq
  • sub1/wa'boqHa'
  • pi/HeHmI'
  • e/ghurmi'
  • clip/poD
  • smooth/Hab
  • howmuch/'ar

• Trig/Log operators
  • sin/joq
  • cos/joqHa'
  • tan/qojmI'
  • atan/qojHa'
  • ln/ghurtaH

• Relational Operators

  All relational operators have been implemented. Thanks to j proctor for null?/pagh'a', negative?/taH'a', int?/HabmI''a', and number/mI''a'.

• I/O Operators

  The var'aq I/O model remains to be defined, but the basic console I/O functions are now present.

• List Operators

  List support does not exist yet.

• String Operators

  The current set of operators is sufficient to implement the others in the spec, but they are a lower priority.

  • strtie/tlheghrar
  • streq?/tlheghrap'a'
  • strcut/tlhleghpe'
  • strmeasure/tlheghjuv
  • compose/naQmoH

Implementation Issues and/or Bug Fixes

• The interpreter now knows to ignore hashbang (i.e. #!/usr/bin/varaq-whatever) lines. They can double as end-of-line comments if you like, but you really shouldn't; these are here primarily to allow the forthcoming vqmake program to spit out program files that a Unix shell can execute directly (which would be .vqx files on any other platform).
• Took the "\t" out of disp/cha' to facilitate a possible CGI conversion. Better formatted output will be a priority very shortly.
• The interpreter also doesn't see lines beginning with //. This is to allow for static linking of .vql files (though if someone wants to implement var'aq "shared libraries" I'll be glad to add the revs to the interpreter).
• Cleaned up the execution logic a bit -- the code to execute a proc object was already in there about four times and was about to go in again for compose/naqmoH, so I abstracted it into a routine called execblock() per Chris' advice (RTFC).
• Merged in j proctor's additions.

Specification Status

A few changes:

• A number of operators have been added:
  • //name -- equivalent to C #include.
  • Numerous "constants" (actually more like environment variables).
• Several operators have been renamed:
  • strcat is now strtie to bring it in line with the Klingon tlheghrar.
  • The basic arithmetic operators have been given new Klingon names to coincide with recent additions to the Klingon linguistic canon.
• More coinages in the section headings.

Acknowledgements

The varaq-dev mailing list, especially j proctor for his code contributions and Alan Anderson for providing the canonical Klingon math operators, and to Glenn Gaslin for the impetus to finally get this thing out the freakin' door.