Quartz

Quartz & Zircon form an end-to-end toolchain for a custom programming language. It includes Quartz, a high-level, imperative language, and Zircon, a cross-platform, stack-based virtual machine that runs the compiled Quartz bytecode.

Quartz

Quartz is a simple, dynamically-typed, imperative language.

Example

A program to calculate the 10th Fibonacci number:

fib(n) {
  if (n <= 1) {
    return n;
  }

  return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2);
}

main() {
  return fib(10);
}

Compilation Pipeline

The Quartz compiler transforms source code into Zircon bytecode through the following stages:

Lexing & Parsing: The source code is tokenized and parsed into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST).
Lowering to IR: The AST is converted into a lower-level Intermediate Representation (IR) for analysis and optimization.
Bytecode Emission: The IR is translated into Zircon bytecode, ready for execution by the virtual machine.

Zircon

Zircon is a stack-based virtual machine designed to execute bytecode generated by the Quartz compiler.

Zircon Bytecode

Bytecode File Format

A compiled .zirc file has the following binary structure:

Magic Number: A 4-byte sequence (ZRCN) to identify the file type.
Version: A single byte indicating the bytecode version.
Constant Pool: A table of constants (numbers, strings) used by the program.
- uint32: Number of constants.
- For each constant:
  - byte: Type of the constant.
  - ...: The constant’s value.
Functions: A table of all functions defined in the program.
- uint32: Number of functions.
- For each function:
  - int32: Number of arguments.
  - uint32: Number of instructions.
  - For each instruction:
    - byte: The opcode.
    - ushort (optional): The operand, if the opcode requires one.

Bytecode Reference

Opcode	Hex	Operand(s)	Description
Stack Operations
`PushConst`	`0x01`	2-byte const index	Pushes a constant from the constant pool onto the stack.
`Pop`	`0x02`	None	Pops the top value from the stack.
`Dup`	`0x03`	None	Duplicates the value at the top of the stack.
`Swap`	`0x04`	None	Swaps the top two values on the stack.
`PushNil`	`0x05`	None	Pushes a `nil` value onto the stack.
Arithmetic
`Add`	`0x10`	None	Pops two numbers, adds them, and pushes the result.
`Subtract`	`0x11`	None	Pops two numbers, subtracts the top from the second, and pushes the result.
`Multiply`	`0x12`	None	Pops two numbers, multiplies them, and pushes the result.
`Divide`	`0x13`	None	Pops two numbers, divides the second by the top, and pushes the result.
`Modulo`	`0x14`	None	Pops two numbers, performs modulo, and pushes the result.
`Negate`	`0x15`	None	Pops a number, negates it, and pushes the result.
Logical Operations
`And`	`0x20`	None	Pops two booleans, performs a logical AND, and pushes the result.
`Or`	`0x21`	None	Pops two booleans, performs a logical OR, and pushes the result.
`Not`	`0x22`	None	Pops a boolean, inverts it, and pushes the result.
Comparison Operations
`Equal`	`0x30`	None	Pops two values, checks for equality, and pushes the boolean result.
`GreaterThan`	`0x31`	None	Pops two numbers, compares them (`>`), and pushes the boolean result.
`LessThan`	`0x32`	None	Pops two numbers, compares them (`<`), and pushes the boolean result.
Control Flow
`Jump`	`0x40`	2-byte address	Sets the instruction pointer to the specified address.
`JumpIfTrue`	`0x41`	2-byte address	Pops a value; if true, jumps to the specified address.
`JumpIfFalse`	`0x42`	2-byte address	Pops a value; if false, jumps to the specified address.
I/O
`Print`	`0x60`	None	Pops a value and prints its string representation to the console.
Variables
`GetLocal`	`0x70`	2-byte local index	Pushes the value of a local variable onto the stack.
`SetLocal`	`0x71`	2-byte local index	Pops a value and assigns it to a local variable.
`GetGlobal`	`0x72`	2-byte global index	Pushes the value of a global variable onto the stack.
`SetGlobal`	`0x73`	2-byte global index	Pops a value and assigns it to a global variable.
Functions
`Call`	`0x80`	2-byte function index	Calls a function, setting up a new call frame.
`Return`	`0x81`	None	Returns from the current function.
Array Operations
`NewArray`	`0x90`	None	Pops a size, creates an array, and pushes it onto the stack.
`GetElement`	`0x91`	None	Pops an index and an array, and pushes the element at that index.
`SetElement`	`0x92`	None	Pops a value, an index, and an array, and sets the element.
`ArrayLength`	`0x93`	None	Pops an array and pushes its length.
Object Operations
`NewObject`	`0xA0`	None	Creates a new, empty object (dictionary) and pushes it.
`GetProperty`	`0xA1`	2-byte const index	Pops an object, gets a property by name (from const pool), and pushes it.
`SetProperty`	`0xA2`	2-byte const index	Pops a value and an object, and sets a property by name.
VM Control
`Halt`	`0xFF`	None	Stops the virtual machine.

Source

The source for Quartz is available on GitHub.