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1 | 1 | # Your First Program |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +Now that your environment is set up and the Rust backend is compiled, let's |
| 4 | +write your first memory-safe C program using NextStd. |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +We are going to replace the traditional, unsafe `printf` function with NextStd's |
| 7 | +type-safe `ns_println` macro. |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +## The Basic Program |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +If you are working inside the cloned repository, create a new file named |
| 12 | +`hello.c` inside the `examples/` directory. |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +Add the following code to print basic text and variables: |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +```c |
| 17 | +#include "../include/ns.h" |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +int main() { |
| 20 | + // 1. Printing a standard string |
| 21 | + ns_println("Hello, World! Welcome to NextStd."); |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | + // 2. Printing an integer safely without format specifiers |
| 24 | + int version = 1; |
| 25 | + ns_print("NextStd Version: "); |
| 26 | + ns_println(version); |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | + // 3. Printing a floating-point number |
| 29 | + double pi = 3.14159; |
| 30 | + ns_print("Value of Pi: "); |
| 31 | + ns_println(pi); |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | + return 0; |
| 34 | +} |
| 35 | +``` |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +To compile and execute this program, open your terminal in the root of the |
| 38 | +`NextStd` repository and run: |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +```bash |
| 41 | +make hello |
| 42 | +``` |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +## Adding Terminal Colors |
| 45 | + |
| 46 | +NextStd also provides a dedicated, cross-platform color module to help you build |
| 47 | +beautiful CLI tools. You don't need to remember ANSI escape codes; you just |
| 48 | +include the header and use the macros. |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +Create a second file named `hello_color.c` in your `examples/` directory: |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +```c |
| 53 | +#include "../include/ns.h" |
| 54 | +#include "../include/ns_color.h" // Import the color macros |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +int main() { |
| 57 | + // Printing with a specific color and resetting it afterward |
| 58 | + ns_println(NS_COLOR_GREEN "Success: System initialized safely." NS_COLOR_RESET); |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | + // Combining styles like bold text with colors |
| 61 | + ns_println(NS_COLOR_CYAN NS_COLOR_BOLD "NextStd is running..." NS_COLOR_RESET); |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | + // Warning and Error colors |
| 64 | + ns_println(NS_COLOR_YELLOW "Warning: Low memory." NS_COLOR_RESET); |
| 65 | + ns_println(NS_COLOR_RED "Error: Connection lost." NS_COLOR_RESET); |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | + return 0; |
| 68 | +} |
| 69 | +``` |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +Compile and run this exactly like the first one: |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +```bash |
| 74 | +make hello_color |
| 75 | +``` |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +## How It Works |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +If you are coming from standard C, the code above might look like magic. How |
| 80 | +does `ns_println` know whether to print a string, an integer, or a double |
| 81 | +without you typing `%s`, `%d`, or `%f`? |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +NextStd leverages C11's `_Generic` keyword to inspect the type of the variable |
| 84 | +at **compile time**. It then automatically routes your data to the correct, |
| 85 | +memory-safe Rust backend function (e.g., `ns_print_int`, `ns_print_double`, or |
| 86 | +`ns_print_str`). |
| 87 | + |
| 88 | +Because there are no format strings, there is zero risk of mismatched types |
| 89 | +causing undefined behavior or reading garbage memory from the stack. If you try |
| 90 | +to print a type that NextStd doesn't support yet, the compiler will safely throw |
| 91 | +an error before the program ever runs. |
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