Your first script

One file

Save this as hello.tks:

const name: string = "world";
console.log("Hello, " + name + "!");

Run it:

thicket run hello.tks

Hello, world!

A .tks file runs from top to bottom. You do not need a project file for a quick script.

Two things to notice already:

• Every declaration has a type. const name: string, not const name. The checker warns when a type is missing.
• Every statement ends with a semicolon.

A little more

Template strings, typed arrays and loops all look the way you expect:

const name: string = "ThicketScript";
const version: int = 1;

console.log(`Hello from ${name} v${version}!`);

const items: Array<string> = ["fast startup", "typed numbers", "batteries included"];
for (const item of items) {
    console.log(`  - ${item}`);
}

Hello from ThicketScript v1!
  - fast startup
  - typed numbers
  - batteries included

A project

Real programs live in a project: a folder with a thicket.json (or thicket.json5) file. Make one with thicket new:

thicket new hello
cd hello
thicket run

thicket new writes three files:

hello/
  .gitignore
  app.tks
  thicket.json5

The project file names the entry file:

{
  "entry": "app.tks"
}

And app.tks holds a class with a static main() method:

class ConsoleApp {
    static main(): void {
        console.log("hello from thicket");
    }
}

When the entry file declares a class with static main(), thicket run runs the file's top-level code first, then calls that main. A plain function main() at the top level is ordinary code and is never called for you.

main can also take the command-line arguments and return an exit code:

class App {
    static main(args: Array<string>): int {
        console.log("started with " + args.length + " arguments");
        return 0;
    }
}

Pass arguments after --:

thicket run -- --verbose --level=3

Templates

thicket new <name> <template> picks a starting point:

Template	What you get
console	A console app (the default).
window	A window app.
willow	A console app that uses the willow 2D module.

Run it again on every save

thicket watch

watch runs the program, then runs it again from scratch whenever a .tks file or thicket.json in the project changes.

Next: your first window.