• Sibilant is a language that is parsed by javascript and compiles to javascript.
• Sibilant is inspired by lisp and follows many lisp conventions, although it is still relatively close to the underlying javascript.
• Macros can be defined in sibilant and included at compile time.
• Sibilant is entirely written in sibilant and can recompile itself.

• Prefer verbose names to abbreviations by default.
• Avoid line noise. Prefer established punctuation semantics from natural languages and common programming languages (eg commas come after things and mean a pause or separation).
• Prefer readable and idiomatic javascript output, which necessitates sticking fairly closely to javascript semantics. Switching cost from sibilant to directly editing the output javascript should be low.
• Prefer expressions to statements. This is the most notable exception to the adherance to idiomatic javascript. Self-executing functions are used extensively to this end.
• Allow as much of the language to be modified in-source as possible. This includes the ability to rename/remove/redefine all keywords and macros.
• Any language constructs that do not output readable javascript should be opt-in.
• Add language features slowly, and only when there's a real use case. Don't blindly implement Lisp features without reasoning through the need.
• Provide tools to simplify avoidance of repetition.

sibilantjs.info includes an in-browser as-you-type sibilant compiler and tutorial, so you can get a sense of the language without leaving your browser.

First, install node.js [ github ] and npm [ github ]. Then, it's as simple as:

$ npm install sibilant -g
$ sibilant --help

The most up to date documentation will always be sibilantjs.info which includes an as-you-type in-browser sibilant compiler. Check out sibilant itself, which is written 100% in sibilant to get a sense of what's possible.

Send a blank email to [email protected] to join the mailing list. Add any bugs or feature requests to the issues page or email the list. Happy hacking, have fun!

Sibilant is released under the MIT license (wikipedia).