Lexical Conventions

Table of contents

1. Comments
2. Identifiers
   1. Naming Conventions
3. Keywords
   1. Context-Sensitive Keywords
4. Whitespace
5. Semicolons

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Comments

Behl uses C-style comments:

// Single-line comment

/* Multi-line
   comment */

/* Nested /* comments */ are not supported */

Identifiers

Identifiers must start with a letter or underscore, followed by letters, digits, or underscores:

let validName = 1;
let _private = 2;
let name123 = 3;

Naming Conventions

While not enforced, these conventions are recommended:

• Variables: camelCase or snake_case
• Constants: UPPER_CASE or PascalCase
• Functions: camelCase or snake_case
• Private/internal: prefix with _

Keywords

Reserved keywords cannot be used as identifiers:

let const function return
if else elseif
while for in
true false nil
break continue

Context-Sensitive Keywords

Some identifiers have special meaning in specific contexts but can be used as variable names:

• defer - Statement keyword, but can be a variable name
• import - Function name, can be shadowed

Whitespace

Whitespace (spaces, tabs, newlines) is generally ignored except to separate tokens:

// These are equivalent
let x=1;
let   x  =  1  ;
let x =
    1;

However, meaningful newlines can improve readability:

// Preferred
for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
    print(i);
}

// Works but discouraged
for(let i=0;i<10;i++){print(i);}

Semicolons

Semicolons are optional in Behl. The language supports automatic semicolon insertion:

// With semicolons
let x = 10;
print(x);

// Without semicolons (also valid)
let x = 10
print(x)

Both styles work. Semicolons are helpful for clarity when putting multiple statements on one line:

let x = 10; let y = 20; print(x + y)