boxlang-language-fundamentalslisted

# BoxLang Language Fundamentals ## Overview BoxLang is a modern, dynamic JVM language (JRE 21+) influenced by Java, CFML, Python, Ruby, Go, and PHP. It compiles to Java bytecode and provides complete Java interoperability with a more expressive, concise syntax. ## File Types | Extension | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | `.bx` | Class files (components, services, models) | | `.bxs` | Script files (standalone scripts, CLIs) | | `.bxm` | Markup/template files (HTML output, views) | ## Variables and Scopes BoxLang uses dynamic typing — types are inferred at runtime. Explicit type annotations are optional but supported. ```boxlang // Variable declaration (var keyword in functions) var name = "BoxLang" var count = 42 var price = 9.99 var active = true // Null var nothing = null ``` ### Scope Chain (resolution order in a function) 1. `local` — variables declared with `var` inside a function 2. `arguments` — function parameters 3. `variables` — component/class private scope 4. `this` — component/class public scope 5. Named scopes: `url`, `form`, `session`, `application`, `request`, `cgi`, `server` ```boxlang // Explicit scope reference variables.counter = 0 this.publicValue = "visible" local.tempResult = compute() ``` ## Operators ```boxlang // Arithmetic a + b a - b a * b a / b a % b a ^ b a \ b // integer divide // Comparison a == b a != b a > b a < b a >= b a <= b a === b a !== b // strict (type + value) // Logical a && b a || b !a a