AILANG Quickstart Tutorial

This is a complete hands-on tutorial to verify AILANG works.

Step 1: Load the Teaching Prompt

First, get the AILANG syntax reference:

ailang prompt | head -50

This outputs the syntax rules. The full prompt is ~200 lines - you now have AILANG syntax in context.

Step 2: Create hello.ail

Create a file named hello.ail with this content:

module hello

export func main() -> () ! {IO} {
  print("Hello from AILANG!")
}

Step 3: Type-Check the Program

ailang check hello.ail

Expected output:

→ Type checking hello.ail...
→ Effect checking...
✓ No errors found!

Step 4: Run the Program

ailang run --caps IO --entry main hello.ail

Expected output:

→ Type checking...
→ Effect checking...
✓ Running hello.ail
Hello from AILANG!

Step 5: Verify Builtins Work

ailang builtins list | head -10

Should show available builtin functions.

Success Criteria

If all steps complete without errors, AILANG is working correctly.

ACTION REQUIRED

Execute each step above in order:

1. Run ailang prompt | head -50 to verify CLI works
2. Create the hello.ail file with the content shown
3. Run ailang check hello.ail
4. Run ailang run --caps IO --entry main hello.ail
5. Report success or any errors encountered

Quick Reference

Command	Purpose
ailang prompt	Get syntax reference
ailang check FILE	Type-check without running
ailang run --caps X --entry main FILE	Run with capabilities
ailang builtins list	List available functions
ailang examples search "query"	Find working code examples (v0.6.2+)
ailang repl	Interactive REPL

Common Capabilities

Capability	When Needed
IO	print, println, readLine
FS	readFile, writeFile
Net	httpGet, httpPost
Clock	now, sleep
AI	call (AI effect)