Getting Started

Silver in Five Minutes

Silver is a systems programming language with high-level syntax. Write the same code for rapid interpreted development, then compile it to native machine code for production - without changing languages.

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The two tools

Silver ships a compiler and an interpreter over the exact same language and standard library.

silverc - the compiler

Compiles a single .sr file or a whole .srp project into a native executable. This is the production path: machine code, no VM, no runtime to install.

silveri - the interpreter

Runs the same .sr files and .srp projects directly, with no build step. This is the development path: instant feedback, instant iteration.

Compile with silverc

SILVER CLI

// Compile a single file (output lands next to the source)
silverc main.sr
silverc main.sr -o out.exe

// Compile a whole project (.srp manifest)
silverc -i main.srp -o app.exe

// A full production build
silverc -i main.srp -o app.exe --runtime --optimize --cache-bytecode --cache-object

Execution modes - pick exactly one

--aot - ahead-of-time compilation, the default pipeline.
--jit - minimal just-in-time runtime.
--runtime - full runtime: garbage collector + memory allocator.

Boosters - combine freely with any mode

--optimize - dead-code removal + behavior-preserving optimization.
--cache-bytecode - persistent .srbc bytecode cache; only changed files re-compile.
--cache-object - persistent per-OS/arch .o object cache.
--watch - predictive precompilation watcher: precompiles while you code.

Build controls

--threads N - explicit thread count (default: total threads - 2).
--debug - debug build, feeds #on DEBUG regions. Release is the default; there is no --release flag.

Run with silveri

SILVER CLI

// Interpret a single file - instant run, no build step
silveri -i main.sr

// Interpret a whole project
silveri -i main.srp

// Speed tiers (persistent caches under the per-host silver cache root)
silveri -i main.sr --cache-bytecode   // .srbc bytecode interpretation
silveri -i main.sr --cache-object     // .o object execution, fastest

The interpreter has three built-in tiers, slowest to fastest: .sr AST interpretation (default), .srbc bytecode interpretation (--cache-bytecode), and .o object execution (--cache-object). It auto-detects the host OS and architecture - there is no --os flag.

Next steps

Install first

Put silverc and silveri on your PATH for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Install Silver

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