A main that does not return an int exits with 0

The first program no longer ends in a 0, and the appendix says what the
compiler knows about main. The unit type is spelled void in the
signatures that wrote unit, which is its value, and print-n-times has a
loop clause for its body.

🤖 Generated with [ECA](https://eca.dev) (anthropic/claude-opus-5-5)

Co-Authored-By: eca-agent <git@eca.dev>
This commit is contained in:
Linus Björnstam 2026-10-20 13:24:25 +02:00
parent 4f8da92dc2
commit 84000bf384
2 changed files with 11 additions and 12 deletions

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@ -24,21 +24,20 @@ git pull
@subsection{Your first bjolang program} @subsection{Your first bjolang program}
Bjolang compiles to c#. Many of the design decisions behind bjolang stems from this limitation. The first one you will encounter is that a program needs a main function. like the one in c#, that returns an int. If execution ended correctly it should return 0 if the program executed successfully. Bjolang compiles to c#. Many of the design decisions behind bjolang stems from this limitation. The first one you will encounter is that a program needs a main function, like the one in c#. An int it returns is the program's exit code, 0 when it ran correctly; a main that returns anything else exits with 0.
@codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]{ @codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]{
(: print-hello (-> string unit)) (: print-hello (-> string void))
(defun (print-hello name) (defun (print-hello name)
(println (str "Hello, " name "!"))) (println (str "Hello, " name "!")))
(defun (main args) (defun (main args)
(print-hello "User") (print-hello "User"))
0)
} }
This can then be run using @code{bjo run filename}, and it should print @code{Hello, User!}. This can then be run using @code{bjo run filename}, and it should print @code{Hello, User!}.
What you can see here is that defun is the form for defining a function. main is special, it needs no type declaration. print-hello is a regular function, and thus has to declare its type. Everything at toplevel needs to do that. The form is (: name type). A function type is declared as (-> ArgType ... Return-Type). print-hello takes a string argument and returns unit. unit is the name for nothing. What you can see here is that defun is the form for defining a function. main is special, it needs no type declaration. print-hello is a regular function, and thus has to declare its type. Everything at toplevel needs to do that. The form is (: name type). A function type is declared as (-> ArgType ... Return-Type). print-hello takes a string argument and returns void. void is the name for nothing: the unit type, whose one value is what println gives back.
@subsection{Declaring types} @subsection{Declaring types}
For most of your bjolang code, you will only declare types in the top level. Types within functions are inferred, so declaring types there is almost never necessary. A value type is declared just like a function, but without the function type declaration: For most of your bjolang code, you will only declare types in the top level. Types within functions are inferred, so declaring types there is almost never necessary. A value type is declared just like a function, but without the function type declaration:
@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ You can also declare your own types. Either aliases of other types, records of y
This can then be destructed using pattern matching. This can then be destructed using pattern matching.
@codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]{ @codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]{
(: print-user (-> User unit)) (: print-user (-> User void))
(defun (print-user u) (defun (print-user u)
(match u (match u
;; Subpatterns: here we match name, age, the Card rank ;; Subpatterns: here we match name, age, the Card rank
@ -119,14 +118,14 @@ A function takes any number of arguments and produces a value. The signature of
;; the last expression in the body is the return value ;; the last expression in the body is the return value
(* x 2)) (* x 2))
(:print-n-times (-> string int unit)) (: print-n-times (-> string int void))
(defun (print-n-times what n) (defun (print-n-times what n)
(loop (:for i (up-from 0 #:to n)) (loop (:for i (up-from 0 #:to n))
(println what))) (:do (println what))))
;; call twice takes a function take takes an argument ;; call twice takes a function take takes an argument
;; of type %a and returns unit. ;; of type %a and returns void.
(: call-twice (-> (-> %a unit) %a unit)) (: call-twice (-> (-> %a void) %a void))
(defun (call-twice f val) (defun (call-twice f val)
(f val) (f val)
(f val)) (f val))

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@ -67,12 +67,12 @@ When compiled, the frontend rejects this with:
Type Error: Function 'greet' requires a type signature (: greet ...) at hello.bjo:1:1 Type Error: Function 'greet' requires a type signature (: greet ...) at hello.bjo:1:1
}| }|
@strong{Why it happens:} Unlike local helper functions defined inside another function, every top-level definition in a module must carry an explicit type signature. The compiler requires this so that module interfaces are self-documenting and can be emitted into the compiled assembly's public metadata without requiring whole-program inference across files. The only exception is @code{main}, which has a fixed signature known to the compiler. @strong{Why it happens:} Unlike local helper functions defined inside another function, every top-level definition in a module must carry an explicit type signature. The compiler requires this so that module interfaces are self-documenting and can be emitted into the compiled assembly's public metadata without requiring whole-program inference across files. The only exception is @code{main}: the compiler knows what it takes, the arguments as a @code{(Vec string)}, and what it returns is the exit code when it is an int.
@strong{How to fix it:} Add an explicit signature right before the definition: @strong{How to fix it:} Add an explicit signature right before the definition:
@codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]|{ @codeblock[#:lang "bjolang"]|{
(: greet (-> string unit)) (: greet (-> string void))
(defun (greet name) (defun (greet name)
(println (str "Hello, " name))) (println (str "Hello, " name)))
}| }|