Cael Language Support

Syntax highlighting, LSP, snippets, and build tools for the Cael programming language.

What is Cael?

Cael is a statically typed systems language that compiles to C99. It is designed to be readable, predictable, and zero-overhead.

The goal is to give order to C. You write Cael; you get C. The abstractions it adds are ones you would have written by hand anyway:

• Namespaces — organise symbols without polluting the global scope
• Imports — single-line file inclusion, no header duplication
• Methods — functions bound to structs via extend blocks
• Reference safety — pass-by-reference is explicit with ref; no implicit pointer arithmetic

If you've been writing C and wishing it had structure without a new runtime, Cael is that language.

Features

Syntax Highlighting

Covers the full Cael syntax — keywords (let, mut, fun, struct, enum, extend, namespace), all primitive types (i8–i64, u8–u64, f32, f64, bool, char, str, void, never), namespace access (math::PI), C FFI blocks (include / extern fun), literals, SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE constants, and line and block comments.

Diagnostics

The built-in language server checks your code as you type — no external install needed. It enforces Cael's naming conventions at edit time:

• Structs and enums must be PascalCase
• Functions and methods must be camelCase
• Constants must be SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE
• Namespaces and variables must be snake_case

It also catches unbalanced braces and parentheses before you reach the compiler.

Hover Documentation

Hover over any symbol to see its documentation inline. This works for built-in keywords, all primitive types, special methods (__add__, __drop__, __iter__, etc.), and any struct, enum, function, or variable defined in your workspace.

Auto-complete

The LSP provides completions for keywords, primitive types, special method names, and every symbol declared in the current file.

Go to Definition

F12 on any struct, enum, function, or variable declaration jumps straight to where it is defined. Works across files in the same workspace.

Snippets

Snippets are included for all common Cael patterns

Build & Run

Compile and run without leaving VS Code.

Output appears in the dedicated Cael output panel. The compiled binary runs in the integrated terminal so you can interact with stdin/stdout.

Extension Settings

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome on GitHub.

License

MIT