🧱 Tuff

Tuff is a systems programming language that lives between C and Rust.
It combines C’s semantics and control with modern ergonomics — concise syntax, expressive types, and zero runtime hand-holding.

No GC. No safety nets. Just control.

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🚀 Overview

Tuff consists of three core components:

Project	Description
libtuff	Core library: lexer, parser, AST, type system, and shared utilities.
tuffc	The Tuff compiler. Builds LLVM IR and emits native binaries.
tuffy	The interpreter (and REPL). Executes Tuff code directly.

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🧩 Language Example

func add(a: i32, b: i32) i32 {
    a + b
}

func div(a: i32, b: i32) ?i32 {
    if b == 0 then nil else a / b
}

func factorial(n: i32) i32 {
    var a := n;
    var b := n - 1;
    while b >= 2 {
        a *= b;
        b -= 1;
    }
    a
}

func main() void {
    use io; // hypothetical stdlib
    println("Factorial of 5 = %d", factorial(5));
}

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⚙️ Design Principles

• Predictable semantics — no hidden allocations, no implicit conversions
• LLVM backend — real machine code, no VM tax
• Optional safety — nullables, pattern matching, and type inference without cost
• First-class C interop — headers in, functions out
• No borrow checker — ownership via move semantics, simple and explicit

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🧠 Architecture

Tuff is structured as a multi-target toolchain:

libtuff/
├── lexer/
├── parser/
├── ast/
└── ir/
tuffc/  → compiler binary (LLVM backend)
tuffy/  → interpreter (bytecode / AST execution)

Both the compiler and interpreter depend on libtuff for core language logic, but each maintains its own symbol resolution and execution model.

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🧰 Build

git clone https://github.com/old-thug/tuff.git
cd tuff
mkdir bin && cd bin
cmake ..
cmake --build .

By default this builds:

• tuffc → the compiler
• tuffy → the interpreter
• libtuff → static library used by both

Requires LLVM 15+ and a C99-compatible compiler.

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🧪 Example Usage

Compile:

./tuffc examples/hello.tuff -o hello
./hello

Interpret:

./tuffy examples/hello.tuff

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🧭 Roadmap

• Self-hosting compiler
• Standard library (I/O, FFI, memory)
• Optional borrow-checking pass
• Inline assembly
• Module and package system

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🤝 Contributing

All contributions are welcome — code, design input, or docs.

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit and push your changes
4. Open a pull request

Check the Issues and Discussions for active topics.