Swap — Swahili Programming Language for VS Code

Editor support for Swap (swapro on npm), the programming language that uses Swahili keywords for common programming constructs. Works with .sw files.

Screenshot

Features

Syntax highlighting for all of Swap's current keywords, built-in helper functions, strings, numbers, comments (#, //, and /* ... */), and operators.
Live error checking — diagnostics are powered by the real Swap interpreter's own lexer and parser (via the swapro package), not a re-implementation, so the errors you see are exactly what running swap file.sw would report. Checking runs on open, on save, and (debounced) as you type — no file is ever executed, so andika never prints and dai never blocks waiting for input.
Snippets for every core language construct (see table below).
Run button — a ▶ button in the editor title bar (also Ctrl+F5, or "Swap: Run File" from the Command Palette) runs your program in an integrated terminal, exactly like typing swap file.sw yourself. If the workspace has a main.sw, you'll be asked whether to run it or the file you're currently viewing; otherwise the current file runs directly. The file is saved first if it has unsaved changes. dai() input prompts work interactively in the terminal, same as the real CLI.

Note: the linter reports one error at a time, by design. Swap's real parser stops at the first syntax error it finds (there is no error-recovery step in the grammar), so this extension mirrors that exactly rather than guessing at further errors the interpreter itself wouldn't detect in the same pass. Fix the reported error and the next one (if any) will surface on the following check.

Requirements

None — the swapro language engine ships bundled with the extension as a dependency.

Keyword reference

Keyword	Meaning
`hifadhi`	declare a variable
`andika`	print a value
`kama` / `basi kama` / `basi`	if / else if / else
`wakati`	while loop
`hakika`	for loop
`vunja`	break (only valid inside `wakati`/`hakika`)
`chagua` / `kesi` / `zaidi`	switch / case / default
`njia`	declare a function
`rejesha`	return a value
`kweli` / `sikweli`	true / false
`lete`	import another `.sw` file
`ita`	link a variable to its outer/enclosing scope inside a function, e.g. ita `x`
`jaribu` / `kamata`	try/catch: `jaribu { ... } kamata (err) { ... }`
`ramani`	declare a map/dict literal: `ramani(ufunguo: thamani, ...)` (keys are bare identifiers; access/set with `mtu.ufunguo`)

njia used where an expression is expected (e.g. hifadhi jumlisha = njia (a, b) { rejesha a + b; };) creates an anonymous function value (a lambda) instead of a named declaration — see the lambda snippet below.

Built-in helper functions

Helper	Purpose
`herufiKubwa`	convert a string to uppercase
`herufiNdogo`	convert a string to lowercase
`hariri`	replace a substring
`tafuta`	find a substring (returns `kweli`/`sikweli`)
`badili`	`str_replace` — simple, paired-array, global (`"yote"`), or regex replacement
`pogoa`	trim leading/trailing whitespace
`jaza`	pad a string to a target length
`gawa`	split a string into an array
`kaunta`	array length/count
`ongeza`	push a value onto an array
`toa`	pop the last value off an array
`panga`	sort an array
`unganisha`	join an array into a string
`geuza`	reverse an array
`kata`	slice an array
`ramanisha`	map — build a new array by calling a function per element
`chuja`	filter — keep elements where a function returns `kweli`
`punguza`	reduce — fold an array to a single value
`kilamoja`	forEach — call a function per element
`zungusha` / `sakafu` / `paa`	round / floor / ceiling
`kamili`	absolute value
`kubwa` / `ndogo`	max / min of any number of values
`kipeo`	power (`kipeo(msingi, kiwango)`)
`mzizi`	square root
`ainaYa`	get a value's type name (`"namba"`, `"neno"`, or `"orodha"`)
`kwaJson`	serialize a value to a JSON string
`kutokaJson`	parse a JSON string back into a value
`mda`	date/time helper
`kisia`	random-value helper
`dai`	prompt for user input

Snippets

Prefix	Inserts
`andika`	print statement
`hifadhi`	variable declaration
`kama`	if / else if / else
`wakati`	while loop
`hakika`	for loop
`chagua`	switch / case / default
`njia`	function declaration
`orodha`	array literal
`kazitegemezi`	call to one of the built-in helper functions
`jaribu`	try/catch block
`ramani`	map literal
`ramaniWeka`	set/add a key on an existing map
`lambda`	anonymous function value (`hifadhi x = njia (...) { ... };`)
`dai`	user input prompt
`lete`	import another `.sw` file

Running a file

Click the ▶ button in the editor title bar, press Ctrl+F5, or run "Swap: Run File" from the Command Palette while a .sw file is open.

If your workspace root has a main.sw, you'll be prompted to run it or the file you're currently viewing (unless main.sw is already the one open, in which case it just runs).
Otherwise, the current file runs directly.
Output — and any dai() input prompts — appear in a "Swap" terminal, so you can type answers interactively just like running swap file.sw yourself.

For the full language tutorial and runnable examples, see the swap repository and its examples/ folder.

Contributors

Extension created by Abdulbasit Rubeiyya

Swap - Swahili Programming Language

abdulbasit rubeiyya