What is SYX?
SYX (pronounced sy-ex, /saɪˈɛks/) is a statically typed, Swift-inspired programming language whose compiler toolchain is implemented in Rust. It targets people who like Swift-style func / let / var, protocols, generics and async / await, but want one open toolchain that can run on a bytecode VM, compile to native code, and emit WebAssembly.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Kind | Programming language + compiler toolchain |
| Syntax lineage | Swift-inspired surface; independent semantics |
| Implementation | Rust (syx-lexer, syx-parser, syx-semantic, syx-mir, …) |
| Source files | .sy (UTF-8) |
| Project manifest | syx.toml |
| CLI | syx (syx-cli) |
| Backends | Stack VM, LLVM native AOT, WebAssembly |
| License | Apache-2.0 |
SYX is neither a subset nor a superset of Swift. Shared names do not imply shared behaviour — see SYX vs Swift.
One-minute mental model
text
.sy source → lexer → parser → semantic → MIR → VM | LLVM | Wasm- Learn the language: Language Guide
- Install and run: Install SYX
- Honest feature boundaries: Capabilities