Introducing Duwa a Chichewa Programming Language

   ./duwa -f path/to/your/program.duwa

Basic Syntax

Let me show you some of the basics of Duwa.

Hello World

ndondomeko pano() {

    lemba("Moni Dziko");

}



pano();

In this example:

• 
  ndondomeko is how I decided to declare a function in Duwa.


• 
  lemba, which means "write" in Chichewa, outputs text.


• The program simply prints "Moni Dziko" ("Hello World") to the screen.

Variables

Duwa supports a variety of variable types:

// Numbers

nambala yoyamba = 1;

nambala yachiwiri = 2;



nambala yomaliza = yoyamba + yachiwiri;



// Strings

mawu dzina = "Maliko";



// Maps

mgwirizano munthu = {

    "dzina": "Soma",

    "zaka": 3

}



// Other types like boolean are not strongly typed

Conditional Statements

I chose to use ngati for if statements and kapena for else, making the logic flow more naturally in Chichewa:

// If statement

ngati(yoyamba > yachiwiri) {

    // panga zinthu (do something)

}



// If-else statement

ngati(yoyamba > yachiwiri) {

    // panga zinthu

} kapena {

    // panga zinthu

}

Loops

Duwa also supports both while and for loops:

// While loop

pamene(yoyamba > 2) {

    // panga zinthu

    yoyamba++

}



// For loop

za(nambala x = 0; x > 5; x++) {

    // panga zinthu

}

Let's Code: Linear Search Example

To give you a taste of what Duwa can do, here’s a simple linear search algorithm.

Create a new file called Kufufuza.duwa in your favorite editor

ndondomeko kufufuza(arr, x) {

    za(nambala i = 0; i < arr.length(); i++) {

        ngati (arr[i] == x) {

            bweza i;

        }

    }

    bweza -1;

}



ndondomeko doLinearSearch() {

    nambala[] arr = [2, 3, 4, 10, 40];

    nambala x = 10;



    nambala result = kufufuza(arr, x);

    ngati (result == -1) {

        lembanzr("Linear Search: Element is not present in array");

    } kapena {

        lembanzr("Linear Search: Element at index " + result);

    }

}



doLinearSearch();

Run the program by running

duwa -f Kufufuza.duwa

You will get the index of 10 printed out on your console

Breaking Down the Code

1. 
   ndondomeko kufufuza(arr, x): This function performs the linear search. "Kufufuza" means "to search" in Chichewa.


2. The za loop iterates through the array, checking for the target value.


3. 
   ngati (arr[i] == x): If the element is found, the function returns its index.


4. If the element is not found, the function returns -1.


5. 
   ndondomeko doLinearSearch(): This function sets up the test case and calls the search function.


6. The result is printed using lembanzr, which I chose to mean "write line."

This example gives a glimpse of how Duwa handles algorithms while staying true to the Chichewa language.

Current State of Duwa

Duwa is still a work in progress, and there are some words and constructs that haven't been fully translated into Chichewa yet. I'm actively working on these translations, and I plan to have everything ready by the time Duwa reaches version 1.0.

Even in its current state, Duwa is fully functional, and I'm excited to see how it grows as I continue to refine it. I’d love to hear your feedback as you experiment with it!

Bonus: I created a simple vscode extension for adding support for Duwa to vscode, for now, you will only get syntax highlighting but working on adding more features. Search for Duwa Language in the vscode extension tab, or download

Check out the (Still a work inprogress)