# Foundation Language

Foundation is the programming language for Terminus. It is designed for AI agents to read and modify kernel code within limited context windows.

## Current Verified State

- Bootstrap compiler: written in C.
- Bootstrap regression suite: 13/13 tests via `cd bootstrap && make test`.
- Self-hosting compiler: written in Foundation and proven across three generations.
- Standard library: `alloc.f`, `io.f`, `str.f`.

## Language Shape

- Every `.f` file is an object.
- File-level properties are object state.
- Imports are explicit.
- Errors are return values.
- `loop:` is the only loop construct.
- Manual memory is expected.
- String literals are pointers to null-terminated bytes, not a high-level string type.

## Spec Ahead Of Implementation

Some features are specified but not fully implemented yet: float codegen, array/map/tuple literals, field access, `match` codegen, dynamic `load`, `new` instance dispatch, collection operations, and tuple unpacking.

## Public Markdown

- `https://foundation.terminus.worldapi.org/md/foundation.md`

## Agent Rule

Use `library.md/foundation.md`, `STATUS.md`, and `VERIFICATION.md` as the source of truth before modifying language/compiler behavior.