Aether Compiler

A fourth-generation systems language for the Aether Operating System

This is the Aether compiler — a from-scratch language designed to build an entire operating system without a runtime, garbage collector, or interpreter. Written in C (bootstrap phase), compiling through a C transpiler to native code, with host-native output for macOS/Linux development and freestanding output for kernel/boot targets.

func fib(n: u64): u64 {
    if n <= 1 { return n }
    return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)
}

Core design principles

• Memory management at compile time — escape analysis, region inference, defer/scope cleanup, no GC
• No interpreter, no runtime — standalone freestanding binaries, runs from the first byte
• C transpiler backend — generates C code, compiled with gcc/clang for native binaries
• Inline assembly — full Intel-syntax inline assembly via NASM, with variable binding and output constraints
• Classes optional, automatic destruction — zero-cost abstractions, auto-init/drop at scope exit
• References over pointers — ref T, owned T, rc T, with raw ptr T for low-level work
• Host-native development — compile and run .ae programs directly on macOS/Linux without a VM

aether build hello.ae --target host && ./hello
# or
aether run hello.ae

Status

Full phase breakdown in STATUS.md. Detailed requirements in REQUIREMENTS.md. Language specification in SPECIFICATION.md.

Quick Start

# Build the bootstrap compiler
make

# Compile and run natively (macOS/Linux)
./build/aether --target host hello.ae -o hello
./hello

# Compile for Aether OS (freestanding ELF64)
./build/aether --target x86_64-freestanding hello.ae -o hello.elf

# One-step compile+execute
./build/aether run hello.ae

# Stop at C source (inspect the .c)
./build/aether hello.ae -S

# Dump AST or tokens
./build/aether hello.ae --dump-ast
./build/aether hello.ae --dump-tokens

# Run test suites
make test           # Unit tests (tokenizer + parser)
make test-host      # Native compilation + execution tests

Prerequisites

• gcc or clang — for building the bootstrap compiler and compiling transpiled C
• make — build system

Project Structure

compiler/
├── src/                 # C source files (bootstrap compiler)
│   ├── aether.c         # CLI entry point, pipeline orchestration
│   ├── tokenizer.c      # Keyword table, tokenization
│   ├── lexer.c          # Lexer stream, indentation engine
│   ├── ast.c            # AST node creation helpers
│   ├── parser.c         # Recursive descent + Pratt parser
│   ├── semantic.c       # Type checking, name resolution
│   ├── optimizer.c      # DCE, constant folding, inlining
│   ├── codegen/         # NASM codegen (asm targets only)
│   ├── c_transpiler/    # C transpiler (default backend)
│   ├── arena.c          # Arena allocator
│   ├── str.c            # String view utilities
│   └── vector.c         # Dynamic array
├── include/aether/      # Header files
├── tests/               # C test suite + .ae fixture programs
├── std/                 # Standard library (11 .ae modules)
├── REQUIREMENTS.md      # Language and compiler requirements
├── SPECIFICATION.md     # Full language specification with examples
├── STATUS.md            # Detailed implementation status per phase
├── AGENTS.md            # AI agent guide
├── CONTRIBUTING.md      # Human contributor guide
└── Makefile             # Build system

Credits

Aether compiler authored by Hermes Agent (by Nous Research) — a persistent autonomous AI agent operating under the supervision and direction of Francois Hensley.