🚀 Ascension

A lightweight, interpreted programming language
C-like syntax • No explicit typing • Built-in GUI, Networking, Neural Networks

"Ascension IS the syntax" — The same language, multiple implementations.

Ascension is an educational programming language with C-like syntax and dynamic typing. Write once, run on Python (reference implementation) or C++ (high-performance port).

🎯 Two Implementations, One Language

Ascension is the syntax. The implementation is just how you run it:

🐍 Python (Reference Implementation)

# Run a program
python3 ascension_12_8.py examples/hello.asc

# Interactive shell
python3 ascension_shell_12_7.py

Full-featured, batteries-included, perfect for rapid development.

⚡ C++ (High Performance)

# Compile
g++ -std=c++17 cpp/ascension.cpp -o ascension

# With optional features
g++ -std=c++17 -DHAS_CURSES -DHAS_NETWORK cpp/ascension.cpp -o ascension -lncurses

# Run
./ascension examples/hello.asc

Header-only modular design, 15% more compact, blazing fast.

Compile Flags:

• -DHAS_CURSES — Terminal UI support (requires ncurses)
• -DHAS_NETWORK — HTTP and socket networking

✨ Features

• C-like Syntax — Familiar and easy to learn
• No Explicit Typing — Variables are dynamically typed
• Stack-based VM — Compiled to bytecode, then executed
• GUI Support — Built-in Tkinter integration
• Networking — HTTP requests and TCP sockets
• File I/O — Read, write, and manage files
• Terminal UI — Curses support for console apps
• Math Functions — Trigonometry, random, exponentials (v12.7)
• Neural Networks — Built-in library for ML experiments (v12.7)
• Terminal Size Detection — curses_rows(), curses_cols() for dynamic TUI layouts (v12.8)

📝 Examples

Variables and Output

name = "Ascension";
version = 12.8;
print("Welcome to", name, "v" + version);

Functions

func factorial(n) {
    if (n <= 1) {
        return 1;
    }
    return n * factorial(n - 1);
}

print("5! =", factorial(5));  // Output: 120

Control Flow

for (i = 0; i < 5; i += 1) {
    if (i % 2 == 0) {
        print(i, "is even");
    } else {
        print(i, "is odd");
    }
}

Structs

struct Person { name, age, city };

p = new Person;
p.name = "Alice";
p.age = 30;
p.city = "Rome";

print(p.name, "lives in", p.city);

Arrays and Matrices

// 1D Array
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50];
print("First:", numbers[0]);

// 2D Matrix
grid = matrix(3, 3, 0);
grid[1, 1] = 99;
print("Center:", grid[1, 1]);

File I/O

// Write to file
f = open("data.txt", "w");
write(f, "Hello, File!\n");
close(f);

// Read from file
f = open("data.txt", "r");
content = read_all(f);
print(content);
close(f);

HTTP Requests

response = http_get("https://api.github.com");
status = response_status(response);
body = response_body(response);
print("Status:", status);

TCP Sockets

sock = socket_open();
socket_connect(sock, "example.com", 80);
socket_send(sock, "GET / HTTP/1.0\r\n\r\n");
data = socket_recv(sock, 1024);
socket_close(sock);
print(data);

GUI with Tkinter

root = tk_root("My App", "400x300");
label = tk_widget(root, "label", "text=Hello GUI!");
tk_pack(label);
button = tk_widget(root, "button", "text=Click Me");
tk_pack(button);
tk_mainloop(root);

Terminal UI with Curses

scr = curses_init();
curses_print(scr, 0, 0, "Press any key...");
curses_refresh(scr);
key = curses_getkey(scr);
curses_end(scr);
print("You pressed:", key);

Error Handling

try {
    x = 10 / 0;
} catch {
    print("Caught an error!");
}

System Commands

result = exec("ls -la");
print(result);

system("echo 'Hello from shell!'");

String Operations

text = "Hello, World!";
print("Length:", len(text));
print("Substring:", substr(text, 0, 5));  // "Hello"
print("Char code:", ord("A"));             // 65
print("From code:", chr(65));              // "A"

🧮 Math Functions (v12.7)

// Random numbers
r = random();           // Float 0.0 - 1.0
r = random(100);        // Int 0 - 99
r = random(10, 20);     // Int 10 - 19

// Basic math
print(sqrt(16));        // 4
print(pow(2, 10));      // 1024
print(abs(-42));        // 42
print(floor(3.7));      // 3
print(ceil(3.2));       // 4

// Exponential and logarithm
print(exp(1));          // 2.718... (e)
print(log(E));          // 1.0

// Trigonometry
print(sin(PI / 2));     // 1.0
print(cos(0));          // 1.0
print(tan(PI / 4));     // 1.0
print(atan2(1, 1));     // 0.785... (PI/4)

// Constants
print(PI);              // 3.14159...
print(E);               // 2.71828...

🧠 Neural Network Library (v12.7)

Ascension includes neural_network.asc, a library for building and training neural networks:

include "lib/neural_network.asc";

// Sigmoid activation
print(sigmoid(0));      // 0.5
print(sigmoid(5));      // ~0.99

// Initialize MLP (2 inputs, 2 hidden, 1 output)
mlp_init();

// Train on XOR problem
// ... training loop ...

// Predict
result = mlp_predict(1, 0);  // ~0.99 (XOR: 1)
result = mlp_predict(1, 1);  // ~0.01 (XOR: 0)

// Save/Load weights
mlp_save_weights("xor_trained.weights");
mlp_load_weights("xor_trained.weights");

Features:

• Activation functions: sigmoid, relu, step, tanh
• Single neuron implementation
• Perceptron with training (AND/OR gates)
• Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) with backpropagation
• XOR problem solver (2-2-1 architecture)
• Weight persistence (save/load to file)

🔧 Built-in Functions

Category	Functions
I/O	print, read
Math	sqrt, pow, exp, log, abs, floor, ceil, random
Trig	sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, atan, atan2
String	len, substr, chr, ord, to_int, to_float
Array	matrix, rows, cols, dim, keys
File	open, close, read_line, read_all, write
Network	http_get, http_post, response_status, response_body
Socket	socket_open, socket_connect, socket_send, socket_recv, socket_close, socket_bind, socket_listen, socket_accept, get_ip
GUI	tk_root, tk_widget, tk_pack, tk_grid, tk_bind, tk_mainloop, tk_canvas_*, tk_dialog_*
TUI	curses_init, curses_end, curses_print, curses_refresh, curses_getkey, curses_clear, curses_rows, curses_cols
System	system, exec

🔑 Keywords

Category	Keywords
Control	if, else, for, while, switch, case, default, break, continue
Functions	func, return
Data	struct, new, null, true, false
Error	try, catch, throw
Module	include
Constants	PI, E

🏆 Stress Tests Passed

✅ Sieve of Eratosthenes — 1,000,000 numbers, found all 78,498 primes up to 999,983
✅ Neural Network XOR — MLP 2-2-1 with backpropagation
✅ Recursive Fibonacci — Deep recursion handling
✅ Nested loops — Complex iteration patterns

🗂️ Project Structure

ascension/
├── ascension_12_8.py        # Main interpreter (v12.8 Atomo Edition)
├── ascension_shell_12_7.py  # Interactive REPL shell
├── cpp/                     # C++ implementation
│   ├── ascension.cpp        # Main C++ interpreter
│   ├── value.hpp            # Value types
│   ├── compiler.hpp         # Bytecode compiler
│   ├── vm.hpp               # Virtual machine
│   └── modules/             # Optional modules
│       ├── mod_fileio.hpp   # File I/O (always included)
│       ├── mod_curses.hpp   # Terminal UI (optional)
│       └── mod_network.hpp  # HTTP/Sockets (optional)
├── ascension_examples/      # Example programs
│   ├── hello.asc
│   ├── calculator.asc
│   ├── fibonacci.asc
│   ├── sieve.asc            # Sieve of Eratosthenes (tested on 1M numbers!)
│   └── ...
├── lib/                     # Libraries
│   ├── neural_network.asc   # Neural network library
│   └── nn_demo.asc          # Neural network demo
├── docs/                    # Documentation
│   └── ascension_manual.pdf
├── LICENSE                  # GPL v3
└── README.md

📚 Documentation

• User Manual (PDF) — Complete 21-chapter guide
• Shell Guide — Interactive REPL documentation
• Examples — Sample programs

📜 Version History

Version	Name	Highlights
12.8	Atomo Edition	curses_rows(), curses_cols() — terminal size detection for dynamic TUI
12.7	Math Edition	17 math functions, neural network library, PI/E constants
12.6	Substr Edition	substr(), chr() string functions
12.5	String Edition	Enhanced string operations
12.4	System Edition	system(), exec() commands
12.3	Matrix Edition	2D arrays, matrix() function

👤 Author

EdeFede — GitHub

Created through "vibe coding" with LLMs, exploring programming language development and generative thinking patterns.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GPL v3 License. See LICENSE for details.

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Remember: Whether you choose Python for rapid development or C++ for performance, you're writing the same Ascension language. The implementation is just a detail — Ascension IS the syntax.

// The same code runs on both implementations
func main() {
    print("One language. Multiple runtimes. Infinite possibilities.");
}