0.5.0

Released 2026-03-18. GitHub release | Downloads

Added

• Built-in Web Server: Integrated a high-performance native web server based on Axum and Tokio directly into the CLI.
• BoxLang Markup (BXM): New .bxm template support with a pluggable transpiler that converts markup into high-speed VM bytecode.
• Web Scopes: Automatic injection of url, form, cookie, session, and cgi scopes for web requests.
• Integrated Web CLI: New CLI flags: --serve, --port, --host, and --webroot for instant web hosting.
• Output Buffering: Added request-level output buffering to the VM and a new writeOutput() BIF.
• Easy Install Scripts: One-liner installation scripts for Linux, macOS (bash), and Windows (PowerShell).
• Multiple Release Variants: CI now produces "Fat" (all-in-one), "Slim" (no stubs), and "Server" (headless runtime) binaries.
• Module System: Dynamic module discovery from matchbox.toml and --module CLI flags; new ModuleInfo struct encapsulating module metadata.
• Native Module Support: Load native Rust .so modules and auto-register exported BIFs without boilerplate.
• Module Settings: Settings support in module lifecycle hooks for configurable modules.
• Cranelift JIT Compilation (Tier-1 & Tier-2): Initial JIT backend using Cranelift. Tier-1 eliminates dead-code in empty loops; Tier-2 translates numeric loop bodies to Cranelift SSA IR.
• JIT Type Guards and Deoptimization: Type-checked JIT paths that fall back to the interpreter on type mismatch.
• JIT Tier-3 — Array Iteration: ArrayIterJitFn for JIT-compiled numeric array iteration.
• JIT Tier-3 — Struct Inline Caching: Per-site polymorphic shape-based caching for struct property access within JIT-compiled code, with deoptimization support.
• JIT Hot Function Compilation and OSR: Persistent profiling counters across quanta, fast-path execution for hot functions, and On-Stack Replacement (OSR) for long-running loops.
• JIT Tier-4 — Leaf Function Calls: JIT compilation for call sites targeting leaf functions.
• JIT Shape ID and Property Loading: Struct property access via JIT using shape IDs and inline caches.
• JIT String Concatenation: JIT-compiled string concatenation via jit_concat.
• JIT Enabled by Default: JIT compilation is now active by default; no extra flag required.
• File System BIFs: directoryExists, directoryCreate, directoryDelete, directoryList, fileExists, fileDelete, fileMove, fileCopy, fileInfo, fileCreateSymlink, fileSetExecutable, fileRead, fileWrite.
• HTTP BIF: httpRequest supporting GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE methods.
• JSON BIFs: jsonSerialize and jsonDeserialize for encoding and decoding JSON data.
• Cryptography BIF: hash for SHA-256 hashing.
• String BIFs: trim, listToArray, indexOf, and chr.
• ESP32 Firmware Support: New matchbox-esp32-runner crate; CLI flags --flash, --full-flash, and --chip for building and flashing bytecode to ESP32 devices; watch mode for live updates during development.
• Web WASM Target: Stub management extended to support browser/web WASM targets alongside the existing WASM container target.
• Elvis Operator (?:): Null-coalescing Elvis operator for concise null checks.
• Safe Member Access (?.): Null-safe chained member access operator.
• while Loop: Full while loop support in the parser and compiler.
• switch Statement: switch/case statement with break support.

Changed

• Weakly Typed Math: The ADD opcode now automatically converts strings to numbers if possible, matching BoxLang behavior.
• Escaped Quote Support: Strings now support BoxLang-style escaping using double-quotes ("" and '').
• Flat Function Representation: Refactored Chunk and VM to use a flat, string-keyed function model instead of nested chunks; CallFrame now carries a direct chunk reference for improved dispatch.
• Watch Mode: Platform-specific process handling for more reliable live-reload behavior on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Fixed

• Fixed literal hash (#) parsing issues in bxm templates by implementing ## escaping.
• ESP32 binary production logic and serial port handling in watch mode.
• ESP32 Docker image tagging and Reflect.set index usage.
• Set RUSTUP_HOME and CARGO_HOME correctly in ESP32 build environment.
• Regression in LOCAL_JUMP_IF_NE_CONST optimization and return propagation.