ixx 0.6.5

IXX — executable checklist-style code

IXX

IXX is a replacement command layer — readable scripts, readable shell, one syntax, every machine.

It is two things in one package:

• A small language that looks like a checklist. Plain English comparisons, visible dash blocks, no braces, no indentation rules.
• An interactive shell that replaces the everyday parts of PowerShell, CMD, Bash, and macOS Terminal with a single consistent syntax.

age = 19

if age less than 18
- say "Not adult"
else
- say "Adult"

ixx> ip wifi
  Wi-Fi: 192.168.1.42

ixx> memory used
  Used:  15.5 GB  (50%)

ixx> downloads size
  downloads: 14.2 GB

---

Quick start

pip install ixx

Then ixx is a command in your terminal.

pip install --upgrade ixx

---

Hello World

say "Hello World"

ixx hello.ixx

---

Variables and string interpolation

name = "Ixxy"
say "Hello, {name}"

---

Conditions

age = 19

if age less than 18
- say "Not adult"
else
- say "Adult"

The - at the start of a line means it belongs to the block directly above. No indentation rules. No invisible whitespace.

---

Lists and contains

items = "apple", "banana", "grape"

if items contains "banana"
- say "Found it"
else
- say "No banana"

---

Loops

count = 3

loop count more than 0
- say "Countdown: {count}"
- count = count - 1

say "Done"

---

All comparisons

if x is 10           # equal
if x is not 10       # not equal
if x less than 10    # strictly less
if x more than 10    # strictly greater
if x at least 10     # greater or equal
if x at most 10      # less or equal
if list contains x   # membership
if text contains x   # substring check

---

Logic

if ready and logged_in
- say "Go"

if tired or bored
- say "Take a break"

if not active
- say "Inactive"

---

Booleans

active = YES
done = NO

---

Nested blocks

if user is "Ixxy"
- say "Hello Ixxy"
- if age at least 18
-- say "Adult account"
- else
-- say "Limited account"

---

CLI

Command	What it does
ixx file.ixx	run a script
ixx run file.ixx	run a script (explicit)
ixx check file.ixx	check syntax without running
ixx version	print the IXX version
ixx help	show help and quick-reference
ixx	open the interactive shell
ixx shell	open the interactive shell
ixx do "ip wifi"	run one shell command and exit
ixx demo	run the bundled demo script
ixx demo interactive	step-by-step interactive walkthrough
ixx setup	register .ixx file type and icon on Windows
ixx showoff	animated terminal presentation of IXX features
ixx showoff quick	short trailer (~8s)
ixx showoff full	extended presentation (~50s)
ixx showoff plain	no animation, plain text output

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IXX Shell

Open the shell with ixx, then use everyday commands without memorising native syntax.

ixx> ip
Adapter      IPv4
-----------  ---------------
Wi-Fi        192.168.1.42

ixx> ip wifi
Wi-Fi: 192.168.1.42

ixx> cpu
  CPU:     AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
  Cores:   16
  Threads: 32
  Usage:   12%

ixx> cpu core-count
  AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
  Cores:   16
  Threads: 32

ixx> ram
  RAM
  Total: 64.0 GB
  Used:  21.0 GB
  Free:  43.0 GB

ixx> disk
Drive  Label   Total    Free
-----  ------  -------  -------
C:     System  2.0 TB   870 GB

ixx> disk space
ixx> disk partitions
ixx> folder size downloads
  downloads: 14.2 GB

ixx> open desktop
  Opened: C:\Users\you\Desktop

ixx> list downloads

ixx> gpu
  GPU:     NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER
  VRAM:    12.0 GB
  Driver:  32.0.15.8157

ixx> gpu vram
ixx> cpu temperature
ixx> cpu speed
ixx> cpu info
ixx> ram free
ixx> ram speed
ixx> wifi
  Network:  MyNetwork
  Signal:   90%
  IP:       192.168.1.42

ixx> ip public
  Public IP:  203.0.113.5
  (via external lookup: api.ipify.org)

ixx> ports
ixx> processes
ixx> find file "*.pdf" in downloads

Single-command mode (useful for scripts and automation):

ixx do "ip"
ixx do "cpu core-count"
ixx do "gpu"
ixx do "folder size downloads"
ixx do "find file *.pdf in downloads"

Notes:

• v0.3.x is Windows-first for real system commands.
• Cross-platform adapters (Linux, macOS) are planned for a future release.
• Destructive commands (delete, kill process, copy, move) are still stubbed for safety.
• The Python implementation is prototype v0 — not the final runtime.

IXX also understands natural synonyms — you do not have to spell out the canonical command:

ixx> memory used          → same as: ram usage
ixx> processor cores      → same as: cpu core-count
ixx> wifi address         → same as: ip wifi
ixx> downloads size       → same as: folder size downloads
ixx> storage              → same as: disk

---

File extension

IXX source files use the .ixx extension.

hello.ixx
system-info.ixx
deploy-checklist.ixx

Note: .ixx is also used by C++20 module interface files. Some editors may misdetect .ixx as C++. Install the editor support below to override this association.

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Editor support

IXX ships with syntax highlighting for VS Code and Notepad++, plus a Windows file icon.

VS Code

The editor/vscode/ folder contains a VS Code language extension that:

• Registers .ixx as IXX (overriding C++ detection)
• Highlights comments, strings, keywords, booleans, numbers, and operators
• Highlights string interpolation ({name} inside double-quoted strings)
• Configures # as the line comment character

See editor/vscode/README.md for installation instructions.

Notepad++

The editor/notepad-plus-plus/ folder contains a User Defined Language (UDL) XML for Notepad++ that highlights .ixx files with the same colour scheme.

See editor/notepad-plus-plus/README.md for step-by-step installation instructions.

Windows file icon

The IXX icon asset lives in assets/:

assets/
  ixx-icon-source.png       source image (673×673)
  generate_icons.py         generates all sizes automatically
  generated/
    ixx-icon-16.png
    ixx-icon-24.png
    ixx-icon-32.png
    ixx-icon-48.png
    ixx-icon-64.png
    ixx-icon-128.png
    ixx-icon-256.png
    ixx-icon.ico             multi-size Windows icon

To generate the icons (requires Pillow):

pip install Pillow
python assets/generate_icons.py

To associate .ixx files with the IXX icon on Windows, see editor/windows/file-association.md.

SVG note: SVG output is intentionally skipped — converting a raster PNG to SVG would embed the bitmap data rather than produce a true vector image. PNG and ICO are the canonical IXX icon formats.

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Current limitations

• Requires Python 3.11+ and the lark library.
• Variable names must be single words (no spaces).
• String literals do not process escape sequences ("\n" is literally backslash-n).
• Shell system commands are Windows-first; Linux/macOS adapters are planned.
• Destructive commands (delete, kill process, copy, move) exist in the guidance tree but do not execute yet.

---

This is prototype v0

The current implementation uses Python and the Lark parser library. This is a proof of concept to validate the grammar and interpreter design.

Python is the implementation language for this phase only. It is not the long-term identity of IXX.

The long-term goal is a standalone IXX binary that requires nothing else to be installed — likely written in Go, Rust, or a similar compiled language. See spec/roadmap.md for the full plan.

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Tests

The prototype ships with two test suites.

Python unit tests

python -m unittest discover -s tests -p "test*.py"

507 tests passing across: language basics, strings, numbers, booleans, conditions, dash blocks, loops, lists, comparisons, contains, logic, functions, built-ins (text/math/lists/color/file I/O), try/catch, nothing, scoping, error handling, CLI commands, shell guidance, command handlers, path aliases, format helpers, system commands, and showoff presentation.

End-to-end StressTest suite

StressTest\run-all.cmd

A manual CLI suite that runs 30 positive .ixx stress tests plus 12 ExpectedFailure scripts against the installed ixx command. Tests cover every language feature end-to-end. Temp files are written to StressTest\tmp\ and cleaned between runs.

Release gate: both suites must pass before publishing a new version:

Suite	Expected result
python -m unittest discover	0 failures, 0 errors
StressTest\run-all.cmd	FILE FAIL: 0 / ASSERT FAIL: 0 / EXPECTED FAIL FAIL: 0

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Project layout

ixx/            prototype interpreter (Python)
examples/       example .ixx scripts
spec/           language spec, shell design, roadmap, dictionary
docs/           getting started guide
tests/          Python unit test suite
StressTest/     end-to-end CLI stress suite (run-all.cmd)
assets/         icon source and generate_icons.py script
  generated/    generated PNG sizes and ixx-icon.ico
editor/         syntax highlighting and file association
  vscode/       VS Code language extension
  notepad-plus-plus/  Notepad++ User Defined Language
  windows/      Windows file association documentation
CHANGELOG.md    version history

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More

• spec/language.md — full language reference
• spec/dictionary.md — complete IXX language dictionary (syntax, built-ins, shell commands, types)
• spec/shell.md — planned interactive shell design
• spec/roadmap.md — where IXX is going
• docs/getting-started.md — step by step setup
• editor/vscode/README.md — VS Code extension
• editor/notepad-plus-plus/README.md — Notepad++ UDL
• editor/windows/file-association.md — Windows file icon and association