Frequently Asked Questions¶

Common questions about Neutron.

Getting Started¶

What is Neutron?¶

Neutron is a lightweight, embeddable scripting language with JIT compilation support. It's designed to be simple yet powerful.

How do I install Neutron?¶

See the Quick Start Guide for installation instructions for your platform.

What platforms does Neutron support?¶

Neutron supports: - Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, Arch) - macOS - Windows (Visual Studio or MSYS2)

How do I run a Neutron program?¶

neutron program.nt

Language Questions¶

Is Neutron statically or dynamically typed?¶

Neutron is dynamically typed by default, but supports optional type annotations for runtime type safety.

Does Neutron have classes?¶

Yes! Neutron supports classes with constructors (init) and methods. See the Language Reference.

How do I import modules?¶

use sys;
use json;
use http;

How do I read a file?¶

use sys;

var content = sys.read("file.txt");
say(content);

How do I write to a file?¶

use sys;

sys.write("output.txt", "Hello, World!");

How do I make HTTP requests?¶

use http;

var response = http.get("https://api.example.com");
say(response.body);

Error Questions¶

What does "Undefined variable" mean?¶

You're trying to use a variable that hasn't been declared. Make sure you declare it with var first:

var x = 10;  // Declare first
say(x);      // Then use

What does "SyntaxError" mean?¶

There's a mistake in your code syntax. Check for: - Missing semicolons (;) - Missing quotes around strings - Mismatched parentheses or braces

How do I handle errors?¶

Use try/catch:

try {
    var content = sys.read("file.txt");
} catch (error) {
    say("Error: " + error);
}

Build Questions¶

How do I build Neutron from source?¶

git clone https://github.com/yasakei/neutron.git
cd neutron
cmake -B build -S .
cmake --build build

See the Build Guide for detailed instructions.

What dependencies do I need?¶

CMake 3.15+
C++ compiler (GCC, Clang, or MSVC)
libcurl (for HTTP module)
jsoncpp (for JSON module)

See Quick Start for platform-specific dependencies.

How do I run tests?¶

python3 run_tests.py

Module Questions¶

What modules are available?¶

See the Modules Index for all built-in modules.

Can I create my own modules?¶

Yes! You can create modules in Neutron or native C++ modules. See Extending Neutron.

Modules can be shared via the Neutron Universal Registry (NUR).

Editor/IDE Questions¶

Is there VS Code support?¶

Yes! See the LSP Documentation for VS Code extension setup.

What editors support Neutron?¶

Any editor that supports Language Server Protocol (LSP) can work with Neutron. See LSP Setup.

Performance Questions¶

Is Neutron fast?¶

Neutron uses JIT compilation for better performance. For maximum speed, use AOT compilation to create native executables. See AOT Guide.

Can I compile to a standalone executable?¶

Yes! See AOT Compilation.

Getting Help¶

Where can I ask questions?¶

GitHub Discussions
GitHub Issues (for bugs)

Where can I find examples?¶

Check the examples directory in the repository.

Quick Answers¶

Question	Answer
File extension	`.nt` for source files
Print to console	`say("Hello")`
Get user input	`input("Prompt: ")`
Declare variable	`var x = 10`
Define function	`fun name() { }`
Import module	`use modulename;`
Comment	`// comment`
If statement	`if (condition) { }`
Loop	`for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) { }`

Didn't find your answer? Ask in GitHub Discussions.