Forge

Forge Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for Forge — a systems programming language with a self-contained compiler (forgec) that compiles .dev source files directly to native machine code, with no external toolchain.

What is Forge?

Forge is a systems programming language designed for direct compilation to native code. The compiler forgec is a single binary that:

• Parses .dev source files with Python-like indentation syntax
• Performs type checking and semantic analysis
• Emits native machine code directly (x86-64, x86-32, x86-16)
• Writes ELF64, ELF32, or flat binary (boot sector) executables

There is no LLVM, clang, NASM, or ld involved — forgec is written in Rust and does everything itself.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Self-contained compiler	No external toolchain dependencies
Multiple targets	x86_64 (ELF64), x86_32 (ELF32), x86_16 (flat 512-byte boot sector)
Python-like syntax	Indentation-based, def/let/var, if/elif/else, match/case
Static typing	Explicit type annotations with inference for literals
Memory control	Raw pointers, unsafe, heap alloc/free, optional GC on x86_64
Bare metal	512-byte boot sector written entirely in Forge

Quick Links

• Installation — How to get forgec
• Quickstart — Compile your first program
• Language Syntax — Complete syntax reference
• Standard Library — std.io, std.mem, std.string, etc.
• Targets — x86_64, x86_32, x86_16 details
• Known Issues & Limitations — What doesn’t work yet

Example: Hello World

package hello

from std.io import puts

pub def main() -> int32:
    puts("Hello, Forge!\n")
    return 0

# Compile and run
forgec hello.dev -o hello --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
./hello
# Output: Hello, Forge!

Example: Bare-Metal Bootloader

@freestanding
pub def _start() -> void:
    puts("Hello, Forge bootloader!")
    _dev_halt()

forgec bootloader.dev -o boot.bin --target x86_16-boot
qemu-system-x86_64 -fda boot.bin -nographic

Next Steps

• Installation — Get forgec running
• Quickstart — First program in 30 seconds
• Language Reference — Complete syntax & semantics

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