Whispem is a small, self-hosted programming language. The compiler is written in Whispem, compiles itself, and runs on a standalone C VM — no external dependencies beyond a C compiler. Rust serves as the reference implementation.
Whispem
Whisper your intent. The machine listens.
Whispem is a small, self-hosted programming language. The compiler is written in Whispem, compiles itself, and runs on a standalone C VM — no external dependencies beyond a C compiler. Rust serves as the reference implementation.
Current version: 6.0.0 — map · filter · reduce · closures · lambdas · f-strings · 153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous tests · zero warnings
Quick start
cargo build --release
cargo run -- examples/hello.wsp
cargo run -- --compile examples/hello.wsp # → examples/hello.whbc
cargo run -- --dump examples/hello.wsp
cargo run # REPL
cargo test # 153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous testsWhat's new in v6.0.0
map, filter, reduce
Three higher-order builtins that take arrays and closures.
# map(array, f) → [f(x) for x in array]
print map([1, 2, 3, 4], fn(x) { return x * 2 })
[2, 4, 6, 8]
filter(array, pred) → elements where pred is truthy
print filter([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], fn(n) { return n % 2 == 0 })
[2, 4, 6]
reduce(array, f, initial) → fold left
print reduce([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], fn(acc, n) { return acc + n }, 0)
15
They compose cleanly with each other and with closures:
let make_gt = fn(t) { return fn(n) { return n > t } }
let result = reduce( map(filter(range(1, 11), make_gt(4)), fn(n) { return n * n }), fn(acc, n) { return acc + n }, 0) print result # 285 (25+36+49+64+81+100 — squares of 5..10)
Lambda naming fix
Nested closures on the same source line previously received duplicate internal names, causing outer(1)(2)(3)-style chains to return a closure instead of a value. Fixed by replacing the functions.len() counter with a monotone lambda_count field in the compiler.
The language
# Variables
let name = "Em"
let age = 26
F-strings
print f"Hello, {name}! Age: {age}"
Conditionals
if age >= 18 {
print "adult"
} else if age >= 13 {
print "teen"
} else {
print "child"
}
For / while loops
for fruit in ["apple", "banana", "cherry"] { print fruit }
let i = 0 while i < 5 { print i\nlet i = i + 1 }
Functions
fn greet(person) { return f"Hello, {person}!" }
print greet("world")
Lambdas
let double = fn(x) { return x * 2 }
print double(7) # 14
Closures
fn make_adder(n) { return fn(x) { return x + n } }
print make_adder(5)(3) # 8
Higher-order functions (v6)
print map([1, 2, 3], fn(x) { return x * x }) # [1, 4, 9]
print filter([1..5], fn(n) { return n % 2 == 1 }) # [1, 3, 5]
print reduce([1,2,3,4,5], fn(a,n){return a+n}, 0) # 15
Arrays
let nums = push([1, 2, 3], 4)
print length(nums) # 4
Dicts
let person = {"name": "Em", "age": 26}
print person["name"]
assert and type_of
assert(type_of(double) == "function")
print type_of(42) # numberArchitecture
source code (.wsp)
↓ src/compiler.rs (Rust reference)
bytecode (.whbc)
↓ src/vm.rs (Rust reference)
outputThe VM is a stack machine with 38 opcodes. map, filter, and reduce are pure builtins — no new opcodes. The .whbc format stays at version 0x04.
invokeclosure — the mechanism used by map/filter/reduce to call user-supplied closures. Records targetdepth = frames.len(), pushes the closure frame, then runs executeuntil(targetdepth). All opcodes are handled by the shared step() method, avoiding code duplication.
--dump disassembles all chunks:
== <main> ==
0000 1 PUSH_CONST 0 '1'
...See docs/vm.md for the complete VM specification.
CLI
whispem # interactive REPL
whispem file.wsp # run source file
whispem file.wsp arg1 arg2 # run with script arguments
whispem --dump file.wsp # disassemble
whispem --compile file.wsp # compile to file.whbc
whispem file.whbc # run precompiled bytecodeTesting
cargo test # 153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous tests
./tests/run_tests.sh # autonomous tests (requires wvm + compiler/wsc.whbc)153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous tests cover: arithmetic, strings, booleans, comparisons, logic, control flow, functions, recursion, forward calls, arrays, dicts, truthiness, error spans, integration programs, bytecode round-trips, all v4/v5/v6 features — including map, filter, reduce, their composition, error cases, and bytecode round-trips.
Project layout
whispem/
├── src/
│ ├── main.rs entry point · CLI · 153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous tests
│ ├── repl.rs interactive REPL
│ ├── lexer.rs tokeniser — else-if collapse, f-string lexing, map/filter/reduce
│ ├── token.rs token types — Map, Filter, Reduce, FStr, ElseIf, …
│ ├── parser.rs recursive descent — lambdas, f-string desugaring, builtins
│ ├── ast.rs AST — Lambda, CallExpr, FStr, FStrPart
│ ├── error.rs WhispemError · ErrorKind · Span
│ ├── value.rs runtime values — Closure, Upvalue
│ ├── opcode.rs 38 opcodes
│ ├── chunk.rs Chunk · serialise · deserialise · disassembler
│ ├── compiler.rs AST → bytecode — upvalue analysis, lambda_count
│ └── vm.rs VM loop · builtins · invokeclosure · executeuntil · step
├── compiler/
│ └── wsc.wsp self-hosted compiler v6.0
├── examples/ 30+ example programs
├── docs/ vm.md · syntax.md · tutorial.md · examples.md · vision.md
├── vm/
│ └── wvm.c standalone C VM (v5 — map/filter/reduce not yet in C VM)
├── tests/
│ ├── expected/ baseline outputs for autonomous tests
│ ├── run_tests.sh autonomous test runner
│ └── test_v5.0.0.wsp
├── Makefile builds wvm from vm/wvm.c
├── CHANGELOG.md
└── README.mdRoadmap
| Version | Goal | |---------|------| | [x] 1.5.0 | Tree-walking interpreter, full language, REPL | | [x] 2.0.0 | Bytecode VM, compiler, --dump | | [x] 2.5.0 | Error spans, arity checking, 72 tests, 0 warnings | | [x] 3.0.0 | .whbc serialisation, self-hosted compiler, C VM, 125 tests | | [x] 4.0.0 | else if, assert, type_of, exit, 147 tests | | [x] 5.0.0 | Closures, lambdas, f-strings, 130 Rust + 37 autonomous tests | | [x] 6.0.0 | map / filter / reduce; lambda naming fix; 153 Rust tests · 51 autonomous tests | | 7.0.0 | map/filter/reduce in C VM; string methods; none literal |
Philosophy
Whispem is intentionally small. The goal is a language whose entire implementation can be read and understood in a single sitting.
In v6, the language gained its three canonical higher-order functions. The implementation is clean: no new opcodes, no changes to the bytecode format. map, filter, and reduce are builtins that call closures through invoke_closure, a small helper that runs a bounded slice of the dispatch loop.
The lambda naming fix is a good example of the project's philosophy: the bug was one line (functions.len() → lambda_count), the fix is one field and one increment. Small, auditable, correct.
Whispem v6.0.0 — map · filter · reduce · closures · lambdas · f-strings
