Klang is the compiler and runtime for K, a statically typed, native-compiled systems programming language with C/C++-inspired syntax.

Status: Working draft. K and its tooling are under active development.

K combines explicit types, value-oriented aggregates, object-oriented programming, deterministic resource management, templates, and compilation to native code through LLVM. Its compiler driver is klangc; the repository also contains libk, the K standard library, and libkdi, the metadata format and tooling used for inter-module APIs.

module hello;

main() : int {
    k::io::stdout.println("Hello, K!");
    return 0;
}

The base standard library is compiler-managed, so k::io is available without an explicit import k;.

Configure and build the project:

cmake -S . -B cmake-build-debug -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug
cmake --build cmake-build-debug

Compile and run a K source file:

./cmake-build-debug/klang/klangc hello.k -o hello
./hello

To compile the included sample:

./cmake-build-debug/klang/klangc samples/fibo.k -o fibo
./fibo

klangc also produces object files (-c), shared libraries (--dyn-lib), static libraries (--static-lib), and KDI interface descriptors for libraries. See the compiler manual and the CMake integration guide for library builds, imports, linker paths, and external projects.

Building Klang requires:

• CMake 3.17 or newer
• A C++20 compiler and a C/C++ linker toolchain
• LLVM development files discoverable by CMake
• pkg-config and libcbor
• Catch2, nlohmann_json, fmt, and Boost (components: program_options, system, filesystem)

On Linux, liburing is optional. When available, asynchronous I/O in libk uses io_uring; otherwise it uses the POSIX fallback.

• Learn K — progressive tutorials from a first program through modules and templates
• Subsystem guides — in-depth technical guides (Date and Time, ...)
• Language reference — complete language rules and grammar
• Standard library reference — public libk APIs
• How-to guides — CMake integration and debugging
• Compiler manual — klangc command-line options

After building, run the test suite from the build directory:

cd cmake-build-debug
ctest --output-on-failure

Contributions are welcome. Please keep changes focused, add regression tests for behavioral fixes, and update the relevant documentation when changing K, the standard library, or KDI behavior. Open an issue to discuss substantial design changes before implementing them.

Klang is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.