Step
1: Download and install
You'll need a
PC running Windows to try it out (Mac and Linux ports are coming soon).
In addition, the development pack has special integration features if
you have Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0/6.1.
Note: if you have
Visual C++ 5.x, know how to use RegEdit, and would be interested in
helping us get the Dev Pack running on VC 5, please email
us.
Download the L
Development Pack here.
Step
2: Learn about L
You can:
Step
3: Your first L program
The "Hello
World" equivalent in L is this:
go write( "Hello World!\n" );
If you have Visual
C++ 6.0/6.1, simply go to File / New, select the Projects tab,
and select L Console Application. The wizard will create a project
with a single L file and a go function that you can fill in.
The wizard sets up the project so it will compile and build automatically.
If you're using
a compiler other than Visual C++, you're more on your own. Write your
L program and put it in a file called "HelloWorld.L"
or the like. Then run it through the L Compiler (click here
for more info). Take the resulting file and run it through your C++
compiler, then link with the L runtime libraries.
Step
4: Go wild!
If you haven't
already, now is a good time to read the Tutorial,
or maybe skim the Reference Manual.
Or take a look at the example programs. These may give you some ideas
for exploring the language on your own.
If you know how
to program in C or C++, then you can take a piecemeal approach to learning
L. Since you can embed C/C++ code directly in an L program, there's
no reason you can't have a perfectly valid L program that is mostly
C++. For instance:
go {
C++: {
char buf[256];
printf( "Enter your name: " );
fflush( stdout );
gets( buf );
printf( "Hi there, %s! How are you?\n", buf );
}
}
Then you can add
in L features as you discover them.
