Program structure

Ranger uses parentheses for a call and braces for a block. A call has the operator or the function first, and the arguments after it.

print ("sum " + (1 + 2))

A call on a dotted receiver can use the parentheses against the name. helper.value() is the same call as (helper.value()).

A block holds one statement per line. { def c:int 5 return c } is a parse error.

Class

A class holds data and functions:

class Counter {
    def value:int 0

    fn add:void (amount:int) {
        value = value + amount
    }

    fn current:int () {
        return value
    }
}

Keyword	Function
class	A class with data and functions.
record	A class that holds data only. The compiler writes a constructor that takes one argument per field, in the order of the fields. record Point { def x:int 0 def y:int 0 } gives (new Point(3 4)). A record is a reference on every target, like a class.
systemclass	A class that the target language gives. The compiler writes no code for it.
fn	A function of an object.
sfn	A static function of the class.
def	A variable or a property.
Import	Read another source file.
Extend	Add functions to a class that another file declares.
Enum	A set of named integer values.

Entry point

The compiler starts the program from the static function main:

class Main {
    sfn main:void () {
        print "the program runs"
    }
}

Comments

A comment starts with ; and continues to the end of the line.

; This line is a comment.
def limit 10   ; This part of the line is also a comment.

Blocks

Braces mark a block. A block is an argument of an operator, and the operator decides when the block runs.

if (limit > 5) {
    print "the limit is large"
} {
    print "the limit is small"
}

The if operator has three arguments: the condition, the block for a true condition and the block for a false condition. The third argument is optional.