Standard Library Overview

The cnegative standard library is intentionally small.

That is good for beginners: you can learn it without feeling like you need a huge ecosystem map first.

How to use this section

If you are new, do not try to read every module in one pass.

Read in this order:

That order goes from “ordinary small programs” to “host/platform experiments”.

Current modules

std.math for small integer helpers
std.bytes for growable byte buffers
std.ipc for text-first child-process IPC
std.lines for growable line storage
std.strings for string helpers
std.text for growable text builders
std.parse for turning text into typed values
std.fs for file and directory work
std.io for simple terminal input and output
std.term for low-level terminal control, capability queries, timed key/mouse/resize/paste events, styles, and buffer diff rendering
std.env for environment variables
std.path for path manipulation
std.time for basic timing
std.net for blocking IPv4 TCP/UDP plus a few text helpers
std.process for target/process helpers
std.x11 for an experimental Linux-only real-window stress-test path

not a giant runtime

This is not a full batteries-included platform yet. The current stdlib is the first practical slice.

experimental host module

std.x11 is intentionally tiny and Linux-only right now. It exists to stress-test real host window integration before a broader interop story exists.

What is owned and what must be freed?

Some stdlib functions return owned runtime strings. Those should be released with free.

Current owned-string stdlib producers include:

std.process.platform(...)
std.process.arch(...)
std.ipc.stdout_read(...) on success
std.ipc.stdout_read_line(...) on success
std.ipc.request_line(...) on success
std.ipc.stderr_read(...) on success
std.ipc.stderr_read_line(...) on success
std.strings.copy(...)
std.strings.concat(...)
std.text.build(...) on success
std.fs.read_text(...) on success
std.fs.cwd(...) on success
std.io.read_line()
std.term.read_paste(...) on success
std.term.term_name(...) on success
std.env.get(...) on success
std.path.join(...)
std.path.file_name(...)
std.path.stem(...)
std.path.extension(...)
std.path.parent(...) on success
std.net.join_host_port(...)
std.net.recv(...) on success
the host and data fields from successful std.net.udp_recv_from(...)

Beginner recommendation

If you are writing your first few programs, start with:

std.io
std.strings
std.fs
std.parse

You can ignore std.term, std.net, std.ipc, and std.x11 until the basics feel comfortable.

One extra repo-level note: std.term is the foundation for future higher-level TUI libraries. std.lines is one of the data-layer pieces that can sit under editor-style apps built on top of it.

Tiny example

cneg

import std.fs as fs;
import std.io as io;

fn:int main() {
    let ok:result bool = fs.write_text("build/demo.txt", "42");
    if ok.ok == false {
        return 1;
    }

    io.write_line("done");
    return 0;
}

Standard Library Overview ​

How to use this section ​

Current modules ​

What is owned and what must be freed? ​

Beginner recommendation ​

Tiny example ​