· 6 min read language-design runtime
State Machines and Duration Literals
Actors keep reinventing state machines badly, so I gave them a real one. Also, duration literals so you can stop counting nanosecond zeroes.
Language Design
7 posts
· 7 min read language-design
Pre-Alpha Syntax Cleanup
Removing seven syntax forms, adding named arguments, fixing the formatter, and collapsing three crates into one before tagging v0.1.0-alpha.
· 5 min read language-design compiler
Testing the Language on Myself
Writing fifteen programs from scratch to find UX problems, then fixing error messages, adding else-if chains, and killing false positives.
· 6 min read language-design runtime
Generators and Actor Mailboxes
Spec v0.6.1 added three generator forms to Hew, including one that streams values across actor boundaries through the mailbox.
· 5 min read language-design
Removing Six Syntax Redundancies
The v0.6.0 spec revision removed six redundancies and three dead-end features without adding anything new.
· 5 min read language-design
Three Spec Revisions in Three Days
Three major spec revisions driven by implementation and user testing — ownership rethink, messaging overhaul, and syntax consolidation.
· 5 min read language-design
Writing a Spec Before Writing Code
Hew started with a 394-line specification, a 1,076-line gap analysis, and four research documents — before any compiler code existed.