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Bryantad
Bryantad

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I Built a New Programming Language for Neurodivergent Creators — Meet Sona (v0.7.0)

#programming #devtooling #opensource #neurodivergent

Why I Built Sona

I’m tired of jumping through hoops just to get “Hello, world!” on the screen—especially when syntax errors feel like hidden trapdoors for neurodivergent brains. After years of wrestling with tooling that wasn’t built for me, I created Sona: an open-source language designed to remove friction, spark creativity, and let you code with confidence from day one.

What Makes Sona Stand Out

  • Minimal, readable syntax (think Python + Rust + Go without the baggage)
  • REPL-first—iterate in milliseconds (v0.4.3 brought multiline functions, :env, :clear)
  • Native modules—import fs; stdin.input() just works
  • Accessibility by design—empathy baked in for neurodivergent devs
  • 100% open source—interpreter in Python + Lark, so you can inspect and contribute

⚡️ [June 2025 Update]: Sona v0.7.0 has officially launched!

This release brings complete object-oriented programming, property access, method chaining, and much more.

📘 Read the full v0.7.0 release post here →

🚀 v0.5.1 Highlights (2025-05-23)

🛠️ REPL Diagnostics

  • :debug → dive into last error, parse tree & scopes
  • :profile → benchmark your commands in real time
  • :watch <var> → peek at variable value, type & defining scope
  • :trace → toggle live function-call logging
  • New helper module: sona/utils/debug_tools.py (docs included)

📂 Project Layout

  • Streamlined directories for source, tests & release scripts
  • Tests grouped by feature area for faster onboarding
  • DIRECTORY.md—find anything in seconds
  • release-tools/ folder with cleanup scripts

🔒 Security Hardened

  • No more shadowed params—function scoping tightened
  • Import paths validated to block traversal attacks
  • Input-size limits to guard against DoS

🐛 Bug Squash

  • Triple-quoted strings now span lines correctly
  • Numeric types behave in if/else blocks
  • Edge cases in while loops patched
  • Error messages now include exact location info
  • Import-alias quirks fixed
  • Memory leaks exterminated
  • :test command runs the full diagnostic suite reliably

✨ REPL QOL

  • Mini :calc & :quiz apps right in the shell
  • Type exit or quit (no colon) to close the REPL
  • Polished :test for one-shot test runs

📚 Docs

  • SECURITY.md updated with real-world best practices
  • Examples synced with the latest fixes

What’s Next

  • v1.0 Public Alpha—rock-solid docs, examples & tutorials
  • IDE plugins—syntax highlighting & LSP support
  • AI-powered tooling—SonaCore LLM integrations incoming

TL;DR: v0.5.1 is all about diagnostics, security, cleanup & polish—your feedback is gold.

If you found this useful, I’d love your support:

⭐ Drop a star on GitHub: github.com/Bryantad/Sona

👥 Follow me on Dev.to for more low-friction language tooling deep dives

Your stars and follows keep Sona moving—thanks for being part of the journey!

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