How to embed Ketos in my Rust application?

Add `ketos = "0.11"` to your Cargo.toml and use the provided API to initialize the interpreter; the README shows basic setup, and API documentation offers detailed examples for executing scripts and exposing Rust functions.

Ketos vs Lua for scripting in Rust?

Ketos offers deeper Rust integration and Lisp expressiveness, making it ideal for seamless embedding, while Lua has a larger ecosystem and is more widely adopted; choose Ketos for Rust-centric projects and Lua if you need broader community support.

Is Ketos fast enough for game scripting?

Yes, for most game logic scripting, Ketos's bytecode compilation and Rust interpretation provide adequate performance, especially when integrated with Rust's safety, but it may not match the speed of native code for heavy computations.

How to call Rust functions from Ketos scripts?

Ketos allows exposing Rust functions via its FFI capabilities; refer to the API documentation for examples on defining and binding functions, enabling bidirectional communication between Rust and scripts.

What are the main limitations of Ketos?

Ketos has a niche focus, so it lacks extensive libraries, and its Lisp syntax may deter some developers; it's best suited for Rust projects where integration outweighs ecosystem needs.

Can Ketos handle file I/O or networking?

Ketos likely relies on Rust for low-level operations; check the language documentation for built-in functions, but you may need to expose Rust's standard library capabilities for advanced features.

Open-Awesome

ketos

Apache-2.0Rust

A Lisp dialect scripting and extension language designed for embedding in Rust programs.

GitHub

767 stars45 forks0 contributors

What is ketos?

Ketos is a Lisp dialect functional programming language designed specifically as a scripting and extension language for Rust programs. It allows Rust developers to embed a scripting language directly into their applications, enabling runtime customization and extension without compromising on Rust's safety and performance guarantees.

Target Audience

Rust developers who need to add scripting capabilities to their applications, such as game developers, tool builders, or application developers requiring user-extensible functionality.

Value Proposition

Ketos provides a seamless Rust-native scripting solution with full interoperability, avoiding the complexity of bridging to other languages while offering the expressiveness of a Lisp dialect and the safety of Rust's ecosystem.

Overview

Lisp dialect scripting and extension language for Rust programs

Use Cases

Best For

Adding scripting capabilities to Rust-based games or applications
Creating user-extensible tools or frameworks in Rust
Embedding a REPL for interactive debugging or configuration in Rust programs
Prototyping game logic or application behavior with a Lisp dialect
Building plugin systems for Rust applications
Teaching Lisp concepts within a Rust environment

Not Ideal For

Projects that do not use Rust and require a standalone, general-purpose scripting language
Teams needing extensive third-party libraries or a large community for scripting tasks
Applications where performance of standalone scripts is critical and interpretation overhead is unacceptable
Developers unfamiliar with Lisp syntax who prefer conventional, imperative scripting languages

Pros & Cons

Pros

Seamless Rust Integration

Ketos is designed from the ground up for embedding in Rust programs, allowing direct interoperability without complex bindings, as emphasized in its primary goal and feature list.

Bytecode Performance

Code is compiled to bytecode and interpreted by pure Rust, balancing execution speed with Rust's safety guarantees, as noted in the key features and README.

Functional Expressiveness

As a Lisp dialect, it offers powerful functional programming paradigms for concise and expressive scripting, ideal for rapid prototyping and extension logic.

Interactive Development

Includes a built-in REPL for real-time testing and debugging, enhancing productivity when developing or tuning scripts within Rust applications.

Cons

Limited Ecosystem

Being a niche language focused on Rust integration, Ketos lacks the extensive library support and community resources of mainstream scripting languages like Python or Lua.

Lisp Syntax Barrier

Its Lisp-based syntax and functional paradigm can be a steep learning curve for developers accustomed to more common imperative or C-like languages.

Interpreted Overhead

For compute-intensive scripting tasks, the bytecode interpretation may introduce performance overhead compared to natively compiled languages or more optimized interpreters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

boa

Boa is an embeddable Javascript engine written in Rust.

Stars7,221

Forks627

Last commit2 days ago

rhai

Rhai - An embedded scripting language for Rust.

Stars5,316

Forks232

Last commit19 days ago

gluon

A static, type inferred and embeddable language written in Rust.

Stars3,393

Forks152

Last commit1 year ago

kcl

KCL Programming Language Core and API (CNCF Sandbox Project). https://kcl-lang.io

Stars2,347

Forks167

Last commit16 days ago

Community-curated · Updated weekly · 100% open source

Found a gem we're missing?

Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.

Submit a project Star on GitHub