SAI

0.2.8 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript

SAI is a whitespace-sensitive, object-oriented programming language that transpiles in-place to JavaScript for the Node.js environment. Current version 0.2.8 (released sporadically, last update 2021). It emphasizes code readability, maintainability, and asynchronous constructs (Promises, finite state machines). Unlike CoffeeScript, SAI is an independent language with rigid parsing, collection manipulators, and compile-time sanity checks. It can be used in dynamic mode (runtime compilation via `sai-language` package) or build-time mode (`sai-build` + `sai-library` runtime). Suitable for Node.js only; not yet browser-ready.

Common errors

error Cannot find module 'sai-language' ↓

cause sai-language not installed globally or locally.

fix

npm install sai-language --save-dev (or global install with -g).

error SyntaxError: Expected 'object', got something else ↓

cause Misformed SAI source header; missing version or invalid syntax after 'object'.

fix

Ensure first line matches: object ObjectName main MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (e.g., object HelloWorld main 1.0.0).

error ReferenceError: sai is not defined ↓

cause Attempting to use `require('sai-language')` but not assigned to a variable.

fix

const sai = require('sai-language');

error Error: Unknown option '--output' ↓

cause Using sai-build with an unsupported flag.

fix

sai-build does not take --output; it transpiles in-place. Use --help for available options.

Warnings

breaking SAI is whitespace-sensitive: indenting must be consistent (spaces only, no tabs). Mixing tabs and spaces causes parse errors. ↓

fix Use only spaces (2 or 4) and ensure consistent indentation per file.

gotcha SAI transpiled JS is not human-readable; do not modify the generated .js files, as they are overwritten on next build. ↓

fix Edit only .sai source files; run sai-build to regenerate .js files.

deprecated Dynamic mode (compiling .sai at runtime via `require('sai-language')`) may have performance penalty. Prefer build-time compilation. ↓

fix Use sai-build to pre-compile, then require the generated .js files directly.

gotcha Comments in SAI use `//` only; `/* */` block comments are not supported in all versions. ↓

fix Use line comments `//` exclusively.

Install

npm install sai-language

yarn add sai-language

pnpm add sai-language

Imports

default
wrong
```
import sai from 'sai-language';
```
correct
```
const sai = require('sai-language');
```
The package is CommonJS-only; ESM imports are not supported.

SAI namespace

wrong

const { SAI, compile, run } = require('sai-language');

correct

const sai = require('sai-language');

There is no named export; the entire API is on the default export object.

sai-build CLI

wrong

require('sai-build');

correct

const { exec } = require('child_process'); exec('npx sai-build', ...);

sai-build is a CLI tool, not a programmatic API. Use shell execution.

sai-run CLI

wrong

import { run } from 'sai-language';

correct

const { exec } = require('child_process'); exec('npx sai-run HelloWorld', ...);

sai-run is a separate CLI (part of sai-language package) but invoked from shell, not require().

Quickstart

Creates a minimal SAI object with a main task that prints 'Hello world!', then runs it with the CLI.

// HelloWorld.sai
object HelloWorld main 1.0.0

Instantiate task
  debug 'Hello world!'

// Terminal:
// $ npx sai-run HelloWorld
// Hello world!