prose

0.0.1 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript abandoned

An experimental literate programming toolkit that reads markdown files and extracts code blocks to produce executable JavaScript programs. Current version 0.0.1 is a proof-of-concept released in 2013 with no further updates. It uses marked for markdown parsing and focuses on embedding code in markdown using shebang language declarations. Unlike other literate programming tools (e.g., Org-mode, Jupyter), prose is minimal and language-agnostic but limited to JavaScript/altJS compilation. It has no active maintenance or releases.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'marked' ↓

cause marked is listed as a dependency but not installed automatically; missing from package.json dependencies (only devDependencies).

fix

Run npm install marked in your project.

error ReferenceError: path is not defined ↓

cause The module uses `path` without requiring it (in `path.resolve`) when loading a module via CLI argument.

fix

Patch source to add const path = require('path') at top.

Warnings

deprecated Package is unmaintained since 2013; may have security vulnerabilities in marked dependency. ↓

fix Avoid using in production. Consider alternatives like literate-programming or org-mode.

gotcha Only JavaScript (via shebang) is actually supported despite claims of compiling any altJS language. ↓

fix Check source: no transpilation logic for other languages exists.

gotcha CLI usage: if arguments provided, it loads a module instead of transpiling stdin. This is undocumented. ↓

fix Run with no arguments to trigger stdin mode; otherwise provide a path to load a module.

Install

npm install prose

yarn add prose

pnpm add prose

Imports

main
wrong
```
import main from 'prose'
```
correct
```
const main = require('prose')
```
Package only supports CommonJS; no ESM exports. The module exports a single function `main` via `module.exports = main`.
transpile
```
const { transpile } = require('prose')
```
transpile is not exported; it's internal to the module. Only `main` is exported.

Quickstart

Demonstrates invoking prose as a module (only exports main) or CLI tool to transpile markdown to JavaScript.

const prose = require('prose');
const fs = require('fs');

// Create a simple markdown input with code blocks
const input = '# Hello\n\nThis is a sample program:\n\n    #!/usr/bin/env javascript\n    console.log("Hello, world!");\n\nThe end.';

const inputStream = fs.createReadStream(); // not practical; typical usage is stdin
// Instead, run as CLI:
// echo -e '# Example\n\n    #!/usr/bin/env javascript\n    console.log("Hello");' | node prose
// Or capture output via shell.
console.log('See CLI usage.');