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Data Types

TinyPanda is dynamically typed. You do not declare variable types; types belong to the values. A single variable can hold any type of data and switch types freely over its lifecycle.

bamboo msg = "I am a string!"; // Starts as a String
msg = 42;                      // Changes to an Integer
msg = 9.99;                    // Changes to a Float
msg = true;                    // Changes to a Boolean

TinyPanda supports these following fundamental data types:

Strings​

Textual data wrapped in double quotes ("...").

TinyPanda only supports double quotes. Single quotes ('...') will cause a syntax error.

bamboo name = "Panda";
whatIs(name) // Outputs: STRING

Check out all available string builtins here.

Escape Characters​

TinyPanda strings support special character combinations starting with a backslash \ to format your console output, while forward slashes / print normally as raw text.

TinyPanda supports two escape characters:

  • \n: Adds a new line in the string.
  • \t: Adds a tab space in the string.
echoln("Hello\tTinyPanda!");
echoln("We are reading\nTinypanda Docs.");
// Outputs:
// Hello	TinyPanda!
// We are reading
// TinyPanda Docs.

Integers​

Whole numbers (positive, negative, or zero) without decimals.

bamboo age = 22;
bamboo temperature = -5;

Floats​

Numbers containing a fractional part or a decimal point. This allows TinyPanda to handle precise continuous measurements or mathematical constants.

bamboo pi = 3.14159;
bamboo price = 99.95;
bamboo negativeFloat = -0.75;

Booleans​

Logical truth values: either true or false.

bamboo isHungry = true;

Lists​

List in TinyPanda are ordered, dynamic collections of values. List are used to store a bunch of items together in one place. Think of them as a collection container.

Creating a List​

Lists are initialized using square brackets [...] with elements separated by commas ,. You can assign them to identifiers using the bamboo keyword just like any other data type:

bamboo numbers = [10, 20, 30];
bamboo emptyList = [];
echoln(whatIs(numbers)); // Outputs: LIST

Mixed-Type Collections​

TinyPanda lets you mix different kinds of data inside the same list. You don't have to stick to just numbers or just words. You can mix them all up together:

bamboo myList = [99, true, "hello", 3.14, fn(x){x * x}(9)];;

Strict Type Safety​

Even though you can mix items, TinyPanda keeps track of exactly what type each item is. It never guesses or accidentally changes a type.

Important note

A integer like 99 is not the same thing as a string "99". Because TinyPanda checks both the value and the type, they will never match by accident!

bamboo list1 = [99, "10", true, "aprim"];
echoln(whatIs(list1[0])) // Outputs: INT
echoln(whatIs(list1[1])) // Outputs: STRING
echoln(contains(list1, 10)) // Outputs: false
echoln(contains(list1, "99")) // Outputs: false

Check out all available list builtins here.