Gauche (Scheme implementation)
Gauche is a free software implementation of the Scheme programming language. It is designed to be portable, lightweight, and useful for practical programming tasks. Gauche aims to conform to the Revised5 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme (R5RS) and incorporates many features from later Scheme standards like R6RS and R7RS, as well as a number of Gauche-specific extensions.
Key characteristics of Gauche include its emphasis on scripting, system programming, and practical software development. It provides a rich set of built-in functions and libraries for tasks such as string manipulation, regular expressions, networking, process management, and database access.
Gauche utilizes a garbage-collected heap for memory management. It supports both interpreted and compiled execution, offering a compiler that translates Scheme code into bytecode for efficient execution.
The Gauche distribution includes a command-line interpreter, allowing interactive use of the language. It also provides a module system, enabling code to be organized into reusable components. Modules can be written in Scheme or in C, allowing for integration with existing C libraries.
Gauche has been used in a variety of applications, ranging from web development and scripting to data analysis and scientific computing. Its flexibility and efficiency make it a viable choice for both small scripts and large-scale software projects.