Shipping developer tools since 1993

I build the tiko programming language, a compiler you can read, fast native binaries, and developer tools.

PlanetSquires Software is an independent software studio. My focus now is tiko — a compiled, statically typed language built to be read: readable like Python, native binaries as fast and small as C, with no garbage collector, no runtime to install and no VM in the middle.

Explore tiko Source on GitHub Join the discussion
  • LLVM-native
  • No GC
  • No runtime
  • Windows · Linux · macOS
  • Open source

01 — The tiko language

Code you can read. Speed you can measure.

tiko is a compiled, statically typed language for building fast, self-contained programs. The syntax is built to be read — blocks say what they close, keywords are words, and there is very little punctuation to learn. Underneath it is a systems language, compiled through LLVM to native code with no VM and no garbage collector.

wordcount.tikotiko
#import "std/strings"

'' Count the words in a sentence.
function WordCount( byval text as ustring ) as int32
    dim as int32 n = 0
    for each w as ustring in strings.Split( text, " " )
        n += 1
    next
    return n
end function

print WordCount( "code you can read" )   '' 4
  • Readable by design — words over symbols, blocks that name what they close, almost nothing to memorise.
  • Native, with nothing to install — LLVM to machine code, no garbage collector, no VM, no runtime shipped alongside your program.
  • A real systems language — generics, tuples, lambdas, typed errors, Go-style channels, and direct use of C headers.
  • Batteries included, cross-platform — a standard library in the box, building for Windows, Linux and macOS.
Visit tiko-lang.net Source & releases on GitHub

02 — About

Software that other software gets built with.

I have been writing software since 1993 — DOS first, then Windows — and for most of that time the product has been somebody else's toolchain. tiko is the latest of them, and the one I care about most.

PlanetSquires Software is an independent studio working close to the metal: compilers, editors and the languages themselves, with as little as possible standing between the source and the executable. The through-line across three decades has been the same — give programmers fast, honest tools and get out of their way.

tiko is where that goes now: a language of my own, compiled through LLVM to native binaries, readable enough to teach from and fast enough to ship. It is open source, builds for Windows, Linux and macOS, and lives at tiko-lang.net.

  • Language & compiler design
  • LLVM code generation
  • IDE & editor engineering
  • Systems programming
  • Performance work
  • Open source

Previously shipped

  • Tiko Editor FreeBASIC

    A Scintilla-based code editor and project system for the FreeBASIC compiler, successor to WinFBE — the editor that led, by name and by lineage, to the tiko language.

  • WinFBE IDE

    The FreeBASIC IDE that came before — a full editor, project system and compiler integration. Succeeded rather than abandoned: its project system, compiler integration and codetips carried forward into Tiko Editor.

  • FireFly Visual designer

    A visual GUI designer and code generator for PowerBASIC — draw the window, get real compilable source, no runtime and no black box in the middle.

  • JellyFish Editor

    A programmer's editor for PowerBASIC, built when the alternative was a plain text editor and a command line.

  • Cheetah Database system

    A dBASE III compatible database engine for Windows applications, from the era when shipping data-driven software meant writing the storage layer yourself.

  • 0 Years shippingsince 1993 · DOS → Windows
  • 0 Target platformsWindows · Linux · macOS
  • 0 Runtimes to installno GC · no VM · native

03 — Contact

Bring it to the forums.

There is no contact form here on purpose. Questions, bug reports and feature requests all belong somewhere public, where the answer helps the next person who searches for it.

PlanetSquires forums

The primary channel. Boards for tiko, FreeBASIC and general Windows programming, plus José Roca's libraries. Free to join.

Start a thread

GitHub

Source, releases and the issue tracker for tiko. Reproducible bugs and pull requests welcome, filed against the repository.

github.com/PaulSquires/tiko-lang

Filing a good bug report? Include your OS and version, how you installed tiko, and the smallest source file that reproduces it. That trio resolves most issues on the first reply.