zap

Zap is a beginner-friendly, general-purpose programming language designed for simplicity and speed. It features a standalone native runtime, meaning projects can be created, built, tested, and served without relying on external environments like Python, Node.js, or Java. The language uses `.zp` source files, indentation-based blocks, and explicit modules, supporting features such as optional type checking, structured errors, classes, inheritance, and closures. The ecosystem includes a comprehensive CLI for managing the development lifecycle, from `zap new` for scaffolding projects to `zap build`, `zap test`, and `zap dev` for serving applications. Zap supports frontend integration by serving static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from a `public/` directory, allowing developers to use frameworks like React or Vue without needing npm at deployment time. The standard library and tooling cover formatting, linting, and structured diagnostics, while the web framework provides bounded native serving and SQLite-first migration contracts. Although the reference implementation is written in Rust, the language aims to provide a cohesive, self-contained development experience.