Lyric

Lyric is a modern, beginner-friendly programming language designed for simplicity, readability, and performance. It blends Python's clean structure with a clear, expressive syntax that emphasizes understanding over complexity.

Lyric is intended for use in introductory computer science courses, helping students learn core programming concepts through an approachable and consistent language design. We also envision Lyric as a general purpose scripting language for use in utilities, small applications, and automation tasks, where clarity and simplicity matter most.

The language is implemented in Python and currently supports core programming constructs including functions, conditionals, loops, classes, built-in data structures (lists and dictionaries) with comprehensive error handling.

Overview

Lyric — an experimental programming language focused on expressive syntax, clean semantics, and developer-friendly design.

• Written in Python 3
• Emphasizes readability and clarity
• Project Website

Status: In Active Development
Current Version: 0.7.0
License (planned): GPL v3

Lyric represents our exploration into language design. We believe programming languages should be both powerful and beautiful, enabling developers to express complex ideas with elegant simplicity.

Hello World

Here's a glimpse of Lyric's expressive syntax:

class Calculator:
    def add(int a, int b) {
        return a + b
    }
    
    def multiply(int a, int b) {
        return a * b
    }
+++

def main() {
    print("Hello world!")

    var calc = Calculator()
    
    int result = calc.add(5, 3)
    print("Addition result: ", result)
    
    int product = calc.multiply(4, 7)
    print("Multiplication result: ", product)
}

Core Features

Lyric is a statically typed language built for clarity and creative expression. It combines the discipline of traditional programming with the fluidity of modern design.

• Statically Typed — Enforces type safety through explicit declarations while maintaining runtime flexibility.
• Class-Based Architecture — Supports object-oriented programming with simple, readable class definitions.
• Exceptions and Error Handling — Structured try–catch blocks for predictable, controlled runtime behavior.
• Familiar Syntax — Inspired by languages like C, Java, and Python, making it instantly familiar when coming from other languages.
• Python-Powered Runtime — Fully implemented in Python 3 for accessibility and re-use of libraries.
• Educational Focus — Ideal for learning programming fundamentals and introductory computer science courses.

Example Programs

Complete Lyric Program

This example demonstrates all core features of Lyric including classes, functions, conditionals, loops, error handling, Python interop, and regex operations.

View Code: does_it_work.ly

CLI Output

View the terminal output: CLI Output

Project State

Lyric has surpassed 500 automated unit tests, all passing at 100%. This ensures parser correctness, syntax validation, type-system stability, and consistent behavior across the language. Lyric is engineered with professional-grade software quality standards. Lyric-0.6.4 is currently functional for small and basic general scripting tasks.

View the test results: Unit Tests

Getting Involved

While Lyric is still in initial development, you can follow its progress and contribute to the project. Public documentation and examples will be hosted at lyric-lang.org as the project evolves.