Apelang: The Primate Way of Communication

Welcome, fellow primates, to Apelang!
Before there was Humanlang (that fancy language with networking and logic at humanlang), and even before Apelang itself, there was something even more prehistoric, DinoLang.

Apelang is a direct evolution of DinoLang, a fossil-fuelled toy language from a time when variables were declared with "FOSSIL" and strings were ROARed into the digital void. DinoLang predates Apelang by several geological epochs. Apelang is basically a newborn mammal by comparison.

Apelang modernizes Dino's prehistoric grunts into tribes, trees, and swinging loops, with structured syntax, string support, modules, error handling, and even data structures. But don’t worry, it's still 99.8% banana-powered.

Apelang is a prehistoric programming language.
Forget your high-level abstractions and complex frameworks. Apelang operates on pure, unfiltered primate instinct. It’s simple, it’s raw, and surprisingly very effective for tasks that involve a lot of swinging, asking, and printing trees.

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Features

• Primitive Data Types: number, string, boolean, nil
• Arithmetic: ooh (add), aah (subtract), eek (multiply), ook (divide)
• Control Flow: if, else, swing (loop), banana (while-loop), give (return)
• Logical Operators: ripe (and), yellow (or)
• Functions: tribe blocks with give
• Input/Output: tree (print), ask() (input)
• Arrays: bunch of values: [1, "banana", true]
• Maps: canopy key-value stores: {"food": "banana"}
• String Manipulation: Built-in functions for powerful string operations: tally(), slice(), graft(), scan(), and shed().
• File I/O: inscribe() to write to scrolls (files) and forage() to read from them.
• Modules: summon "helpers.ape" to include external code
• Error Handling: tumble { ... } catch (err) { ... }
• Interactive REPL: A live, interactive shell for experimenting.
• Bytecode Disassembler: Peek under the hood at the compiled ape bytecode.
• Package Manager: apebanana for installing community modules.

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Getting Started (For the Less Evolved)

You’ll need a C compiler (gcc or clang) and make.

git clone https://github.com/duongddinh/apelang.git
cd apelang
make

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Global Installation

Make apeslang available from anywhere with:

sudo mv apeslang /usr/local/bin

OR, even easier:

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

The install.sh script:

• Builds the apeslang binary
• Installs it to /usr/local/bin
• Verifies installation

After that, you can use apeslang anywhere in your terminal!

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🍌 Banana Package Manager

To make sharing and using code even easier, Apelang comes with a simple package manager called apebanana. It lets you fetch community-made modules directly from the banana-modules repository.

Installing a Module

You can install any available module from the tribe's collection. For example, to install a module for math utilities:

apebanana install max

This will download max.ape into your current directory. You can then use it in your code with the summon keyword

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How to Speak Ape

Keywords

• ape: Declare a new variable.
• tree: Print to console.
• ask(): Get user input.
• if / else: Conditional execution.
• swing: Loop.
• inscribe: Write new wisdom onto a scroll (file).
• forage: Read the contents of a scroll (file).
• banana: A while loop that continues as long as a condition is true.
• tribe: Define a function.
• give: Return from a function.
• tumble / catch: Try-catch-style error handling.
• summon: Import another .ape module file.
• tally: Get the length of a string.
• slice: Extract a part of a string.
• graft: Concatenate two strings.
• scan: Find a substring.
• shed: Trim whitespace.

Operators

Symbol	Meaning
ooh	Addition / Concat
aah	Subtraction
eek	Multiplication
ripe	Logical AND
yellow	Logical OR
ook	Division
==	Equality
!=	Inequality
< / <= / > / >=	Comparisons

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Developer Tools: REPL & Disassembler

Apelang comes with powerful tools for interactive development and debugging.

Interactive REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop)

For quick experiments or learning the language, start Apelang in interactive mode. It keeps your variables in memory until you exit.

apeslang repl

You'll be greeted with a >> prompt.

Apeslang Interactive REPL. Type 'exit' to quit.
>> ape x = 5
>> tree x ooh 2
7
>> ape y = "hello"
>> tree y ooh " ape"
hello ape
>> exit

Bytecode Viewer (Disassembler)

Ever wonder what your Ape-speak looks like to the machine? You can decompile your .apb files into a human-readable (and ape-commentated) format. This is great for debugging or understanding how the VM works.

First, compile a file:

apeslang compile your_script.ape

Then, disassemble it:

apeslang disassemble your_script.apb

Example: A file containing tree 10 ooh 5 would produce:

== your_script.apb: The Ape Scrolls ==
0000 OP_PUSH          NUMBER 10
0009 OP_PUSH          NUMBER 5
0018 OP_ADD           ; gather more bananas
0019 OP_PRINT         ; ape screeches about bananas
0020 OP_NIL           ; nil, the absence of bananas
0021 OP_RETURN        ; ape returns to the tribe's canopy

🦍 Installing the ApeLang VS Code Extension

From Marketplace

Install directly from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace:

🔗 duongddinh.ape on Visual Studio Marketplace

Steps:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for: duongddinh.ape
4. Click Install

Or via terminal:

code --install-extension duongddinh.ape

Advanced Ape Knowledge

Bunch (Array)

ape myBunch = [10, "banana", true]
tree myBunch[1] # Prints: banana
myBunch[0] = 99
tree myBunch

Canopy (Map)

ape myCanopy = {"name": "Koko", "age": 5}
tree myCanopy["name"]
myCanopy["age"] = 6

Tumble / Catch (Error Handling)

tumble {
  tree "Trying something risky..."
  ape fail = 10 ooh "banana" # Type error!
} catch (err) {
  tree "Caught an error!"
  tree err
}

Summon (Modules)

summon "helpers.ape"
tree helperVar
sayHelloFromHelper("Koko")

Built-in String Tribes

Apelang has powerful, built-in functions for manipulating strings. tally(string) - Counts the characters.

tree tally("banana") #> 6

slice(string, start, end) - Extracts a piece of the string.

tree slice("banana", 1, 4) #> "ana"

graft(string1, string2) - Joins two strings.

tree graft("ooh-ooh-", "aah-aah") #> "ooh-ooh-aah-aah"

scan(haystack, needle) - Finds the starting index of a substring.

tree scan("jungle vine", "vine") #> 7
tree scan("jungle vine", "tree") #> -1

shed(string) - Removes whitespace from the start and end.

tree shed("   lots of space   ") #> "lots of space"

Jungle Scrolls (File I/O)

Apes can now record their wisdom for future generations or read ancient knowledge from found scrolls.

Create a new scroll and inscribe some wisdom

ape path = "ancient_scroll.txt"
ape wisdom = "A banana in hand is worth two in the tree."
inscribe(path, wisdom)

Later, another ape can forage for this wisdom

ape found_wisdom = forage(path)
tree "The ancient scroll says: " ooh found_wisdom

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Compile & Run

Compile a .ape file to Ape Bytecode (.apb):

apeslang compile hellobanana.ape

Output:

Compilation successful. 🦍🍌

Run the compiled bytecode:

apeslang run hellobanana.apb

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Apelang in The Jungle

1. Hello Jungle

tree "OOH-OOH-AAH-AAH! Hello, Jungle!"

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2. Counting Bananas

ape bananas = 5
swing bananas {
  tree "I have a banana!"
  bananas = bananas aah 1
}

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3. Banana Loop (While Loop)

ape bananas = 3
banana (bananas > 0) {
    tree "Still have " ooh bananas ooh " bananas left to eat."
    bananas = bananas aah 1
}
tree "All bananas gone!"

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4. If/Else Foraging with Logic

ape weather = "sunny"
ape time = 14 # 2 PM

if (weather == "sunny" ripe time > 12) {
  tree "Good time to forage for berries!"
} else {
  tree "Stay in cave."
}

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5. Wise Old Ape (Function)

tribe wiseWords() {
  tree "Ape who chases two bananas catches none."
  give nil
}
wiseWords()

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6. Input

tree "How many bananas do you have?"
ape myBananas = ask()
tree "You say you have " ooh myBananas ooh " bananas. OOH-OOH-AAH-AAH!"

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Availability & Compatibility

Apelang runs on:

macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon) Linux (x86_64, ARM with GCC) Windows (via WSL, MinGW, or Cygwin)

To support all platforms:

• Share .ape source or precompiled .apb files
• Share the apeslang binary built for that OS/CPU
• Use install.sh or make for easy builds

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Apelang vs. Humanlang

While Humanlang, with its modern Wi-Fi era, creates advanced networking capabilities and runs on fancy interpreters. Apelang is a much more less grounded language. Apelang is a compiled language, meaning your ape code is translated directly into raw, efficient bytecode that the VM executes. There's no middle-ape interpreter like THE TALKING SNAKE; it's a direct connection to the machine's primal core. This also means, unlike its futuristic descendant, Apelang doesn't concern itself with the like of networking or the internet. Our apes communicate through shouts, gestures. If you want to connect to other apes, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way: by swinging over to their tree.

Apelang vs. Humanlang vs. DinoLang: A Tale of Three Epochs

• DinoLang is raw binary driven by integers and yelling.
• Apelang builds on DinoLang with loops, scopes, strings, modules, and basic error handling.
• Humanlang is the sleek, Wi-Fi-enabled descendent, more evolved, but less hairy.

Each speaks to a different era in evolutionary coding. Choose based on your brain size, tool preference, and number of bananas nearby.

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Known Bugs (a.k.a. “Unpredictable Ape Behavior”)

Disclaimer: This project is an educational tool and a work-in-progress. It contains known security vulnerabilities and is NOT suitable for running untrusted code or for any form of production use.

The primary security weakness in Apeslang stems from the Virtual Machine (VM) completely trusting the bytecode it is instructed to execute. The VM performs no verification or bounds-checking on the bytecode, which allows a specially crafted .apb file to compromise the interpreter's integrity, leading to crashes, information disclosure, or potentially arbitrary code execution.

• Sometimes the compiler throws a banana peel at you. Try again.
• The VM might go on a spontaneous swinging spree. It's not a bug, it's enrichment.
• Error messages are in “Ape-speak” and may require interpretation.

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Contribute

Found a bug? Got a new banana idea? Fork and PR. We love more apes in the tribe!

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Good luck, and happy swinging!