c-prime/README.md

# C′ — C with Classes. Zero Bloat.

**C′ (C-Prime)** is a tiny object-oriented extension to the C language.
It adds **classes, methods, constructors, operator overloads, inheritance, templates, reflection**, and more — while still compiling to **pure, readable, high-performance C99**.

You write modern OOP code.
C′ rewrites it into C.
The C compiler does the rest.

⚡ **Instant preprocessing speeds** (just a few milliseconds)
📦 **Tiny compiler** (written in clean C99)
🧩 **Drop-in compatibility** with existing C toolchains
🛠 Uses **TinyCC**, GCC, or Clang to compile the output

---

### Why C′?

C++ gives you a lot… and a lot of baggage.

C′ gives you **just the power of classes** without templates nightmares, ABI chaos, or hidden runtime behavior.
Everything turns into **transparent C functions and structs** you can read and debug directly.

> **Write like OOP — ship like C.**

---

## 🧠 How it works

C′ is a **source-to-source compiler**:

```
C′ source → C′ Preprocessor → Pure C output → Normal C compiler
```

Under the hood:

1. **Parse code** (via custom tokenizing lexer)
2. Extract **classes, methods, properties**
3. Replace OOP syntax with **C99 equivalents**
4. Generate `.c` + `.h` files
5. Compile with TinyCC (or any C99 compiler)

Output remains beautiful C that **you can read**.

---

## ✨ Language Features

✔ Classes
✔ Methods
✔ Constructors
✔ Operator Overloading (`+`, `+=`, `==`, …)
✔ Property access via `this->field`
✔ Inheritance (multiple!)
✔ Templates / generics
✔ Reflection
✔ SQLite3 support
✔ Console logging with automatic pretty-printing
✔ File manipulation
✔ HTTP server utilities
✔ Zero runtime dependencies

---

## 🔤 Example: Hello Classes

**Input C′ code:**

```c
#include "console.h"

class application {

    sayHi(char * name) {
        console.log("Hi ", name);
    }

    launch() {
        this->sayHi("John");
    }
}

void main() {
    application * app = new application();
    app->launch();
}
```

**Generated C:**

```c
// pseudo-simplified
typedef struct application {} application;

void application_sayHi(application * this, char * name) { ... }
void application_launch(application * this) { ... }

int main() {
    application * a = application_new();
    application_launch(a);
}
```

Readable. Fast. Pure C.

---

## 🕹 Constructors

```c
class vector3 {
    float x;
    float y;
    float z;

    constructor(float x, float y, float z) {
        this->x = x;
        this->y = y;
        this->z = z;
    }

    display() {
        printf("x: %f, y: %f, z: %f", this->x, this->y, this->z);
    }
}

void main() {
    vector3 * v = new vector3(1.0, 0.0, 1.0);
    v->display();
}
```

---

## 🌐 Minimal HTTP Server

```c
#include "../http.h"

void handleRequest(struct request * req, struct text * res) {
    res += "HTTP/1.0 200 OK\r\n\r\nHello from C′!\r\n";
}

void main() {
    http * server = new http();
    server->createServer(handleRequest);
    server->listen(8080);
}
```

---

## 📁 Filesystem Handling

Full directory scanning + file reads/writes with class APIs.

---

## 🔧 Templates (Generics)

```c
template<T>
class vector {
    T * items;
    int total;
    void add(T item) { ... }
}
```

Compiler generates correct type-specialized C.

---

## 🧱 Multi-Inheritance

```c
class B { ... }
class C { ... }

class A extends B, C {
    ...
}
```

Properties + methods are merged cleanly and deterministically.

---

## 🧩 SQL via SQLite3

One-liner in-memory database setup:

```c
sqlite * sql = new sqlite(":memory:");
sql->selectModel("user");
sql->createTable();
```

Full CRUD built-in.

---

# 🛠 Installation & Build

### Requirements

* **TinyCC** OR GCC/Clang
* **Linux** or macOS

### Build

```bash
make
./cprime input.cprime
```

This generates `.c` + `.h` files in `/output`.

---

# 🔍 Internals

### Lexer → Struct Model → Transform → Emit C

```
Lexer
 ⮡ Tokens
 ⮡ Syntax Data (structs)
 ⮡ Rewrite rules
 ⮡ Generators
```

The compiler itself is written in **clean C99** using a tiny standard library of:

* arrays
* text utilities
* reflection metadata
* class loaders

---

# 🤝 Contributing

C′ is young — contributions are very welcome!

Ideas:

✔ Better diagnostics
✔ More docs & examples
✔ Editor syntax support
✔ Windows support
✔ More standard library components

---

# 📜 License

MIT License — do what you want, just keep the copyright notice.

---

# ⭐ Clone C′

Publicly available:

```sh
git clone https://code.kajdijkstra.com/kaj/c-prime.git
```

Or SSH:

```sh
git clone git@code.kajdijkstra.com:kaj/c-prime.git
```

---

## 💬 Final words

Thank you for checking out C′!

If you’ve ever wondered
*“How does a compiler **really** work?”*

C′ is a simple but powerful place to learn — and create.

Future of C coding:
**Object-oriented when you want it — pure C where it counts.**