Simply Changelog

A massive release. Simply Code — a dedicated VS Code-style IDE — is here, the language has objects, full file I/O, HTTP fetch, JSON, and dozens of new built-ins. .simply files now open a chooser modal so you can run or edit.

🎉 Simply Code IDE

• Simply Code — a full dark-themed IDE shipped alongside Simply. Looks and feels like VS Code, built specifically for the Simply language
• File explorer with folder tree, open folder as workspace
• Multiple file tabs with unsaved indicator, close buttons, middle-click to close
• Syntax highlighting built into the editor — keywords, types, strings, numbers, comments, built-ins all colored
• IntelliSense / Autocomplete — type any keyword, built-in, or type name and a popup suggests matches
• Embedded interactive terminal — run files with F5, see output inline, type input that flows back to your running program
• Find & Replace (Ctrl+H)
• Line numbers, current-line highlight, auto-indent on Enter, Tab inserts spaces
• Toggle comment (Ctrl+/) on selection
• Font zoom (Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0)
• Desktop & Documents shortcuts auto-created during install

📦 File Chooser Modal

• Double-clicking a .simply file now opens a clean modal: ▶ Run Script or 📝 Open in Simply Code
• Right-click any .simply file → Run with Simply or Edit with Simply Code

🔤 Language — Objects

• define x = { name: "Ali", age: 30 } — full object literal support
• Property access: x.name, x.age
• Property assignment: x.name = "Firas", x.age += 1
• Object utilities: keys(), values(), hasKey(), merge(), entries(), fromEntries()

🔁 Language — Control Flow

• else if — chain conditionals without nesting
• break and continue in for, while, loop
• Compound operators: +=, -=, *=, /=
• Increment / decrement: x++, x--
• Power operator: 2 ** 10
• Default function parameters: fn greet(name, msg = "Hello") { } end
• String interpolation: "Hello {name}!" (scope variables)
• import "utils.simply" — include other Simply files

📁 File I/O Built-ins

• readFile(path), writeFile(path, text), appendFile(path, text)
• fileExists(path), deleteFile(path), listDir(path), makeDir(path), dirExists(path)
• cwd(), getDir(), getFilename(), joinPath()

🌐 HTTP & JSON

• fetch(url, { method, body, headers }) — full HTTP client returning { status, ok, text }
• json.parse(str) and json.stringify(obj, indent)

🧰 Array Higher-Order Methods

• .map(), .filter(), .reduce(), .find(), .every(), .some()
• .sort(), .unique(), .flat(), .concat(), .slice(), .splice()

🧪 More Built-ins

• exec(cmd) — run shell commands and capture output
• sleep(ms), now(), date(), env(key), args
• Type checks: isNull, isString, isNumber, isArray, isObject, isBool, isFunction
• Math: Math.PI, Math.E, clamp(), log(), pow()
• Regex: regexTest(), regexMatch(), regexReplace()
• String methods: .padStart(), .padEnd(), .repeat(), .trimStart(), .trimEnd()

🐛 Fixes

• Parser now treats newlines as whitespace — write code on one line, many lines, or any mix
• if (x = 5) works correctly (comparison vs assignment context-resolved)
• Updates fully reinstall files instead of failing on conflicts
• Bootstrapper auto-updates itself when a newer version is available
• VSCode extension now installed via code --install-extension — reliable on all installs
• Console stays open when running .simply files from double-click

The very first release of Simply. Core interpreter, syntax, basic types, and the package bridging system to npm and Python.

🚀 Initial Release

• Simply interpreter (simply.exe) written in C# and compiled to native Windows binary
• Simply Bootstrapper — small GUI to install, update, uninstall, version-switch
• Adds Simply to PATH and registers .simply file association
• Optional VSCode syntax highlighting extension

📝 Core Language

• Variables: define x = value with optional type annotation define:String name = "Ali"
• Functions: fn name(args) { } end, first-class, anonymous, closures
• Conditionals: if (cond) { } end with optional else
• Loops: loop(n), while(cond), for(x in arr)
• Error handling: try { } catch (e) { } end
• Arrays: [1, 2, 3], indexing, methods
• Return values via return(value)

🔌 Package Bridging

• use npm:packageName — call any installed npm package
• use python:packageName — call any installed Python package
• Synchronous, JSON-serializable bridge via subprocess

🧮 Built-ins

• output, input, str, num, type, len, range
• Math: floor, ceil, round, abs, sqrt, max, min, random
• String methods: .upper(), .lower(), .trim(), .split(), .replace(), etc.
• Array methods: .push(), .pop(), .join(), .contains(), .indexOf(), etc.