Reading Vision

Words, not symbols

Most languages inherited their syntax from C: braces, semicolons, ==, +=, ->. Vision dropped all of that. Where other languages write symbols, Vision writes words.

Arithmetic uses plus, minus, times, divided by. Comparison uses is, is not, is greater than. Logic uses and, or, not. The only punctuation in normal code is the comma, the colon after a block opener, and double-quotes around text.

The result is code that a non-programmer can read aloud and mostly understand. That is not an accident.

Naming things

A name is bound with is. A constant uses is always. The name comes first, then the value — like a sentence.

a guest is "Marigold"
a count is always 100

Names are yours to choose. Pick words that say what the thing is: the total, a path, the result. Vision has no naming convention rules — just the good sense to name things clearly.

The shape of a verb

Verbs (functions) are introduced with to. Inputs are declared with given. The result is handed back with answer.

to greet, given a name:
    say "hello, " followed by name
    answer "done"

Reading it aloud: "to greet, given a name: say hello followed by the name, answer done." That is a complete, working Vision verb.

Indentation makes blocks

There are no braces in Vision. Indentation defines structure — the same way English uses paragraphs. A colon opens a block; the indented lines beneath it belong to it.

to begin:
    if the total is greater than 0
        say "positive"
    otherwise
        say "zero or below"

Four spaces per level is the convention. The compiler enforces consistency — mixing tabs and spaces is an error.

Frame words

Vision's grammar is made of a fixed set of frame words: to, given, if, but if, for each, answer, the, is, and so on. These are the structural glue. In syntax highlighting they appear slightly muted — because the names you choose carry the meaning, and the frame should recede.

Every word in a Vision line is either a frame word or a name you chose. There are no hidden keywords you have to memorise; the whole frame is listed in The grammar.