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Getting Started

Set up the Ora development environment and try the current implementation.

Ora is an experimental project and NOT ready for production use. Syntax and features change frequently.

Prerequisites​

  • Zig 0.14.1 or later
  • CMake (for Solidity library integration)
  • Git (for submodules)

Installation​

Clone and Build​

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/oralang/Ora.git
cd Ora

# Initialize submodules (required for Solidity integration)
git submodule update --init --recursive

# Build the compiler
zig build

# Run tests to verify installation
zig build test

Verify Installation​

# CLI help
./zig-out/bin/ora --help

# Lex/parse a simple, known-good fixture
./zig-out/bin/ora lex tests/fixtures/semantics/valid/storage_region_moves.ora
./zig-out/bin/ora parse tests/fixtures/semantics/valid/storage_region_moves.ora

# Generate AST JSON
./zig-out/bin/ora -o build ast tests/fixtures/semantics/valid/storage_region_moves.ora

Try Your First Contract (current syntax)​

contract SimpleStorage {
    storage var value: u256;

    pub fn set(new_value: u256) {
        value = new_value;
    }

    pub fn get() -> u256 {
        return value;
    }
}

Parse and inspect:

./zig-out/bin/ora parse simple_test.ora

Current Implementation Status​

What works now:

  • Basic contract parsing and AST generation
  • Error unions and return checking (partial)
  • Region transition checks (storage/stack/memory/tstore basics)

In development:

  • Formal verification (requires/ensures/invariant checks)
  • Full operator typing and switch typing
  • Yul/EVM backend stabilization

Exploring Examples​

Use repo fixtures and examples to explore:

  • Semantics fixtures: tests/fixtures/semantics/{valid,invalid}
  • Parser fixtures: tests/fixtures/parser/{...}
  • Example snippets: ora-example/ (reference language constructs; some may be experimental)

Development Tips​

  • Run the full suite: zig build test
  • For quick inspection, prefer ora lex|parse|ast on small files
  • Grammar references: GRAMMAR.bnf, GRAMMAR.ebnf

Building Variants​

# Clean build
zig build clean && zig build

# Debug build
zig build -Doptimize=Debug

# Release build
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

Limitations​

  • No standard library
  • Diagnostics and typing are evolving
  • Backend codegen is experimental
  • Syntax may change without notice