blackroad/roadc/ROADC_LANGUAGE_SPEC.md

RoadC Language Specification

RoadC is the official programming language of BlackRoad OS. Every agent, every Claude session, every system writes RoadC.

Why RoadC

1. English IS a programming language. Greenbaum & Nelson proved 7 sentence structures generate all of English. RoadC maps those 7 structures to code.
2. Simple rules, infinite complexity. Pascal's insight: recursive composition from simple units creates unbounded complexity. RoadC embodies this.
3. Sovereign. No dependency on any corporation's language. We own the lexer, parser, interpreter, and compiler.

Quick Reference

# Variables
let name = "BlackRoad"
let count: int = 42
let color = #FF1D6C
const PI = 3.14159

# Functions
fun greet(name):
    return "Hello, {name}!"

# Control flow
if count > 10:
    print("big")
elif count > 0:
    print("small")
else:
    print("zero")

while count > 0:
    count = count - 1

for item in [1, 2, 3]:
    print(item)

# Collections
let list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
let dict = {"key": "value", "name": "Alexa"}
let colors = {#FF1D6C, #F5A623, #2979FF}

# String interpolation
let msg = "Hello {name}, count is {count}"

# Member access
print(list.length)
print("hello".upper())
print(dict["name"])

The 7 Sentence Structures

Every function in RoadC follows one of 7 English sentence patterns:

Pattern	English	RoadC	Meaning
SV	"It runs"	run()	No args, subject acts alone
SVA	"Deploy to Cecilia"	deploy("cecilia")	Verb + location/manner
SVC	"Alice is online"	status("alice") -> "online"	Identity/state check
SVO	"Search the repos"	search("repos")	Verb acts on object
SVOO	"Send Alexa the report"	send("alexa", "report")	Two objects: who + what
SVOA	"Store data in R2"	store("data", "r2")	Object + where
SVOC	"Make code clean"	make("code", "clean")	Object becomes complement

Implementations

Implementation	Language	Lines	Status
Interpreter	Python	1,764	Working
Compiler	C99	618	Working
Playground	Web	-	At roadc-playground

File Extension

.road

Run

# Python interpreter
python3 roadc.py run program.road

# REPL
python3 roadc.py repl

# C compiler
./roadc program.road

Design Principles

1. Python-style indentation — no braces, no semicolons
2. Explicit types optional — let x = 42 or let x: int = 42
3. String interpolation — "Hello {name}" not f"Hello {name}"
4. Color literals — #FF1D6C is a first-class type
5. Space keyword — space MyScene: for 3D/spatial computing
6. Fun keyword — functions are fun: fun greet(name):
7. English-first — code reads like English sentences

For Agents

When writing RoadC, think in English sentence structures:

• Name your functions as verbs
• Name your parameters as objects
• Structure matches intent
• If you can say it in English, you can write it in RoadC

License

Proprietary — BlackRoad OS, Inc.