Language Overview

Aksa (from aksara — script, letters; Sanskrit akṣara, "imperishable") is built on three ideas:

1. Kids should code in their own language. All 13 keywords, every builtin, and every error message come from a locale dictionary. Adding a language is adding one JSON file — nothing is hardcoded.
2. Error messages are the real product. Every mistake has a stable ID, a source position, and a kid-friendly localized explanation. The whole program is checked before it runs, so kids see all their mistakes at once — never a compiler stack trace.
3. Zero installation, real graduation. The core is pure C99: it runs natively, compiles to WebAssembly for the browser, and transpiles to C for flashing onto real ESP32 boards — the same program from screen robot to real LED.

A first program

// my first program
function greet(name) {
  return "hello " + name
}

repeat 3 {
  print(greet("world"))
}

The same program, same language, Indonesian locale:

fungsi sapa(nama) {
  kembali "halo " + nama
}

ulangi 3 {
  tulis(sapa("dunia"))
}

The essentials

• Comments start with // and run to the end of the line.
• Identifiers accept full Unicode, so kids name things in their own words.
• Files use the .aksa extension.
• Types are numbers, strings, and booleans — see Types & Values.
• Conditions must be boolean: if (5) is a friendly error, not a silent truthy guess.

How it runs

source ──► lexer ──► parser ──► checker ──► bytecode VM   (learning mode)
        (locale-      AST     every kid-    └─► robot/sim in browser
         driven)              facing error
                              caught here    └─► C emitter ──► real board
                                                 (deploy mode)

The lexer maps localized keywords to abstract tokens, the checker catches every kid-facing error before anything runs, and the same checked program either runs in the bytecode VM (browser or CLI) or is emitted as C for a real board.