Raku (programming language)
Raku is a general-purpose, high-level, dynamic programming language. It is a sister language to Perl 5, not a direct replacement or a version thereof, though it shares some design influences and a common heritage. The name "Raku" was granted by the Perl development community in 2019, having previously been known as Perl 6.
Raku aims to be a language that facilitates both rapid prototyping and industrial-strength applications. It incorporates features from a wide range of programming paradigms, including object-oriented, functional, and concurrent programming. Its design emphasizes expressiveness, making it easier to write concise and readable code, particularly for complex tasks.
Key aspects of Raku include:
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Gradual Typing: Raku allows for optional static typing, enabling developers to choose between dynamic and static checking based on their needs. This provides flexibility and performance optimization options.
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Concurrency and Parallelism: The language offers built-in support for concurrency and parallelism, allowing developers to easily create applications that can take advantage of multi-core processors.
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Metaprogramming: Raku supports advanced metaprogramming capabilities, allowing developers to manipulate the structure and behavior of the language itself at runtime.
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Unicode Support: Raku has comprehensive support for Unicode, making it well-suited for handling internationalized text and data.
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Powerful Regular Expressions: Raku includes a powerful regular expression engine that integrates deeply with the language syntax.
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Grammars: Raku uses grammars to define its syntax, providing a flexible and extensible parsing mechanism. These grammars can be used to parse other languages or data formats.
Raku is implemented by several compilers, with the primary implementation being Rakudo, which targets the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), JavaScript, and Native backends. It is often considered a modern and innovative language designed to address the challenges of contemporary software development.