The August book
This book teaches you to read, write, and change August programs. It assumes you have written code in another language. August builds a native executable when you run a program; August 1.0 downloads its own LLVM tools on supported platforms.
Start with a working application. Then add one idea at a time: labeled inputs, data and failures, module boundaries, dependencies, and controlled mutation. Each chapter contains a complete small project. Save its files together, run the commands, and compare your result with the output shown.
If you are reading an existing application, begin with its compiled explanation. The diagram views also provide a folder data flow and linked sequences. Move down to the source for an exact expression, or back up to see how a module fits the application. Compiled specifications describes this workflow.
Read in order
| Chapter | What you will do |
|---|---|
| Your first project | Install the toolchain, run a greeting, test it, and generate its specification. |
| Values and functions | Write a calculation and read labeled calls and conditions. |
| Data and failures | Return an immutable record, distinguish null from a value, and recover from a checked failure. |
| Modules and dependencies | Choose a folder's exports and supply an implementation at startup. |
| State and tests | Change an object through a borrow and verify that test setup is fresh for each case. |
| Change an unfamiliar module | Trace a dependency, make a bounded change, and review its tests and updated spec. |
Chapters use indentation to keep the first examples compact. Indentation and braces have the same meaning, and the gallery displays both. Semicolons are optional. Changing block style does not change the program.
Use the rest of the documentation
The task guides cover testing, services, packages, specifications, and measurement. The language reference states detailed rules, including cases these lessons leave for later. Library API pages describe exported operations. You can use those pages without reading the book from beginning to end.
The lessons teach August 1.0; readiness describes the limits of deploying it. The complete source examples are checked and run in CI.