SUB — Simple Universal Builder

A small language toolchain: one .sb source, compiled to native x86-64 machine code, interpreted live, or transpiled to 13 languages.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/subhobhai943/sub-lang/main/installer/install.sh | sh

Get the tools Read the docs

Features

Three tools in one toolchain. Real compilation, real interpretation, real transpilation — no wrappers.

Native compiler — `subc`

Emits x86-64 machine code and writes the ELF executable itself. No assembler, no linker, no libc — a compiled SUB program is a self-contained static binary a few kilobytes in size.

Direct interpreter — `subi`

Runs .sb programs instantly, with an interactive REPL. The interpreter is the specification every backend agrees with, and CI diffs each backend against it.

13-target transpiler — `sub`

One command generates idiomatic Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, C, C++, Rust, Go, Java, Kotlin, Swift, Ruby, x86-64 Assembly, and CSS from a single AST.

Classes & objects

Clean OOP with class, fields, .new construction and member access — lowered idiomatically on every backend.

Pattern matching

switch/case over ints, strings and floats with multi-value clauses and no fall-through — a case runs its body and nothing else.

Standard library

Four modules — math, arrays, strings, io — written in SUB, verified through every backend, loaded with import.

Declarative UI tree

First-class ui.* syntax for windows, labels, buttons and inputs — one tree, many renderers.

Packages everywhere

Windows .msi, Linux .deb/.rpm, macOS .pkg, FreeBSD pkg, Arch, Alpine, AppImage — and a universal curl | sh.

Download

Direct links to the latest release. Your platform has been highlighted.

Windows

x86_64 · MSI installer

Download .msi

macOS

Apple Silicon · .pkg installer

Download .pkg tar.gz

Linux

Debian/Ubuntu · .deb

Download .deb deb arm64 .rpm rpm arm64 tar.gz

FreeBSD

pkg(8) package · amd64

Download .pkg tar.gz

All assets & release notes · SHA-256 checksums

Code examples

One canonical spelling: let, fn, null, brace-delimited blocks. Older spellings still compile, with a deprecation note.

hello.sb

let name = "World"
let greeting = "Hello, " + name

println(greeting)

fn add(a, b) {
    return a + b
}

println(add(10, 20))

$ subc hello.sb && ./hello Hello, World 30

switch.sb

let choice = 2

switch choice {
    case 1:
        println("First choice")
    case 2, 3:            # one clause, several values
        println("Second choice")
    default:
        println("Other choice")
}

$ subi switch.sb Second choice

point.sb

class Point {
    let x = 0
    let y = 0
}

let p = Point.new
p.x = 10
p.y = 20

println(p.x)  # 10
println(p.y)  # 20

$ subi point.sb 10 20

Transpilation targets

Ten of the thirteen targets are executed and diffed against the interpreter in CI, on every push.

Pythonverified in CI
JavaScriptverified in CI
TypeScriptverified in CI
Cverified in CI
C++verified in CI
Rustverified in CI
Goverified in CI
Javaverified in CI
Kotlinverified in CI
Swiftverified in CI
Rubyverified in CI
x86-64 Assemblygenerated
CSSgenerated

transpile

$ sub program.sb rust    # -> program.rs
$ sub program.sb go      # -> program.go
$ sub program.sb python  # -> program.py

Quick start

Up and running in under a minute.

Install

Grab a release for your platform, or use the universal installer:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/subhobhai943/sub-lang/main/installer/install.sh | sh

Or build from source: make.

Run it

Interpret a script, or drop into the REPL:

$ echo 'println("hello")' > hello.sb
$ subi hello.sb
hello

Go native

Compile straight to machine code, or out to any target:
```
$ subc hello.sb -o hello
$ ./hello
$ sub hello.sb rust
```

Getting started Language reference Standard library Installation guide