jolt/README.md
Yogthos 5ae537474b docs: update README with SCI status, test section, project structure
- Add SCI bootstrap status (317/317 forms, 46 namespaces)
- Quick start with git submodule init
- Test section, project structure, 22 special forms count
- Core library count updated to 145+ bindings
2026-06-02 09:52:25 -04:00

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# Jolt
A Clojure interpreter running on [Janet](https://janet-lang.org). Jolt reads Clojure source text, evaluates it using an interpreter written in pure Janet, and exposes a Clojure-compatible standard library. The goal is a Janet-hosted [SCI](https://github.com/borkdude/sci) runtime — minimal bootstrapping, with SCI as the standard library.
## What's inside
Jolt implements the core of Clojure in a single-process Janet project:
**Reader** — A recursive descent parser for Clojure syntax: symbols, keywords, numbers, strings, characters, lists, vectors, maps, sets, quote forms, reader macros (`#()`, `#_`, `#?`), metadata, deref, and tagged literals.
**Evaluator** — A tree-walking interpreter with 22 special forms (`quote`, `do`, `if`, `def`, `defmacro`, `fn*`, `let*`, `loop*`/`recur`, `throw`, `try`, `set!`, `var`, `locking`, `instance?`, `defmulti`, `defmethod`, `deftype`, `new`, `.`, etc.), syntax-quote with unquote and unquote-splicing, a macro system with `&env` support, destructuring (`:keys` and sequential), and namespace forms (`ns`, `require`, `in-ns`).
**Core library** — 145+ bindings from `clojure.core`: predicates, math with Clojure arity semantics, comparison, collections, sequences, higher-order functions, string functions, I/O, atoms, macros (`when`, `when-not`, `if-let`, `when-let`, `if-some`, `when-some`, `doto`, `fn`, `let`, `defn`, `defrecord`, `defprotocol`), and SCI bootstrap stubs.
**SCI bootstrap** — All 317 forms from SCI's 9 core source files (`macros`, `protocols`, `types`, `unrestrict`, `vars`, `lang`, `utils`, `namespaces`, `core`) load with zero failures. 46 namespaces are populated with 900+ bindings. SCI's `eval-string` is replaced with a Jolt-native implementation.
## Quick start
```bash
git clone https://github.com/yogthos/jolt.git
cd jolt
git submodule update --init # pulls vendor/sci
jpm build # compiles build/jolt
build/jolt # drops into REPL
```
## Build
```
jpm build
```
This compiles `src/jolt/*.janet` into a standalone `build/jolt` executable. Requires Janet ≥ 1.36 and `jpm`.
## Run
```
build/jolt
```
Drops into a read-eval-print loop where you can type Clojure expressions:
```
user=> (+ 1 2)
3
user=> (map inc [1 2 3])
[2 3 4]
user=> (defn fib [n] (if (< n 2) n (+ (fib (- n 1)) (fib (- n 2)))))
#'user/fib
user=> (fib 10)
55
```
## Test
```
jpm test
```
Runs all tests: API, bootstrap, core, evaluator, macro, namespace, reader, types, and SCI load.
## Use as a library
```janet
(use jolt/api)
(def ctx (init))
(eval-string ctx "(+ 1 2)") ;; → 3
(eval-string ctx "(map inc [1 2 3])") ;; → [2 3 4]
(eval-string ctx "(def x 42)") ;; → #'user/x
(eval-string ctx "x") ;; → 42
```
`(init)` returns a context with `clojure.core` loaded. Pass it to `eval-string` to evaluate Clojure source. Each context is isolated — use separate contexts for separate evaluation environments.
## Project structure
```
src/jolt/
types.janet — Var, Namespace, Context, symbol helpers
reader.janet — recursive descent parser for Clojure syntax
evaluator.janet — tree-walking interpreter
core.janet — 145+ clojure.core bindings
api.janet — public API: init, eval-string, eval-string*
main.janet — REPL entry point
test/ — 8 test suites + SCI load test
vendor/sci/ — SCI submodule (git submodule)
```
## License
[Eclipse Public License 1.0](https://opensource.org/licenses/EPL-1.0)