Miranda

Mira is the Miranda lazy functional programming system (interpreter).

Prerequisites

You need typical Unix build tools:

| Tool | Purpose | |------|---------| | GCC or Clang | C compiler (macOS Xcode Command Line Tools provide gcc/clang) | | GNU Make | Build driver (make) | | strip | Optional size reduction step (usual on Unix) | | Node.js 18+ | Optional — runs npm scripts at the repo root (npm run compile, npm start) |

Optional, only if you regenerate the parser from rules.y:

• Berkeley Yacc (byacc) — GNU Bison/yacc is not interoperable here. Install with Homebrew (brew install byacc), then align the Makefile’s YACC line with byacc if needed.

Fresh checkouts normally build using the bundled y.tab.c / y.tab.h, so byacc is not required until you edit rules.y.

Install from npm

Requires Node.js 18+, gcc/clang, and GNU make (same as building from source). The package compiles the native mira binary on install.

npm install -g mirandaort
mira -version
mira                    # interactive session
mira -exec script.m     # run script (must define main)

Local project install:

npm install mirandaort
npx mira -version

Published package: mirandaort on npm. Miranda Studio (studio/) is not included in the npm package.

Installation (step by step)

1. Get the sources

Clone or unpack the archive, then enter the project directory:

cd /path/to/miranda

2. (Recommended) Refresh build state on this machine

This removes old objects, removes generated Miranda bytecode cached under miralib/ and miralib/ex/, and refreshes .host:

make cleanup

3. Build

make

This produces:

• mira — the interpreter
• miralib/menudriver — helper used by the standard library layout
• Precompiled library pieces (e.g. miralib/prelude, miralib/stdenv) and examples under miralib/ex/ via ./mira -make …

Inspect the top of the Makefile if you must change compiler or flags (CC, CFLAGS).

npm workflow (alternative to make / ./mira)

From the repository root you can build and run the interpreter with npm scripts. This does not start Miranda Studio (studio/ is optional and separate).

npm run compile    # bootstrap + build ./mira (same result as step 3 above)
npm start          # interactive Miranda session
npm run version    # print interpreter version
npm run exec -- miralib/ex/fib.m   # run a script (requires main = …)

npm run compile creates missing bootstrap files (miralib/.version, fdate, .host) before calling make. If make warns about miralib/prelude not found, the C interpreter may still build; you need the full standard library tree for example bytecode and %include modules.

Reset build state with npm run clean (same as make cleanup).

4. Run

From the repository root:

./mira

That starts interactive Miranda (see the original README for /e, /man, etc.). Example scripts:

./mira miralib/ex/fib.m

Print version:

./mira -version

Run a one-shot script via stdin (-exec):

echo 'main = "hello"' | ./mira -exec /dev/stdin

By default mira looks for the library beside the current layout (miralib under this tree). Override with MIRALIB only if your layout differs:

MIRALIB=/path/to/miralib ./mira …

5. (Optional) System-wide install — root only

Adjust BIN, LIB, and MAN at the top of the Makefile, then as root:

sudo make install

This copies mira, miralib, and mira.1 into /usr/bin, /usr/lib, and /usr/share/man/man1 or the paths you configured.

6. (Optional) Release tarball — root only

sudo make release

Creates a ./usr/ tree under the repo and a .tgz suitable for unpacking at / on a machine of the same architecture (details in README).

Troubleshooting

• make cleanup chmod errors — run from a writable clone; scripts call chmod/unprotect against miralib/.
• Optimisation / GC instability — the garbage collector can break under aggressive optimisation; edit CFLAGS (try no -O or a different compiler), as explained in README.
• byacc: command not found — only affects rebuilding from rules.y; install Berkeley yacc or rely on shipped y.tab.c/y.tab.h.

For platform-specific tweaks and #ifdef-style patching, keep using the authoritative plain-text README (maintainer instructions).

Miranda Studio (Node UI)

A small React + Vite + Monaco Editor IDE in studio/ shells out to the compiled mira binary (no JavaScript interpreter):

1. Build the core system first: make in the repository root.
2. Install and run the web app:

cd studio
npm install
npm run dev

Open the URL Vite prints (default http://127.0.0.1:5173). Use Run or ⌘↵ / Ctrl+Enter to evaluate the script; main must be defined (same as mira -exec). Use Add library to insert %include <studio/…> lines; add-on modules live under miralib/studio/ (same resolution rules as %include <ex/…>).

Production:

cd studio
npm install
npm run build
NODE_ENV=production npm start

The API listens on 127.0.0.1:4987 by default. Override with MIRANDA_STUDIO_PORT. Long runs are stopped after MIRA_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30000).