| name | cl-cpp-generator2 |
| description | Provides documentation and guides code generation using the cl-cpp-generator2 Common Lisp to C++ transpiler. Use when writing, modifying, or testing Common Lisp forms to be transpiled into C/C++ (including GLSL/HLSL shaders). |
CL-CPP-Generator2 Transpiler
This skill documents the Lisp-like S-Expression DSL used by the cl-cpp-generator2 transpiler to emit C++ and shader code. Use this documentation to write correct Lisp forms, extend the transpiler, or understand generated C++ outputs.
When to use this skill
- When implementing new features or writing new Lisp generator code in
example/ or at the workspace root.
- When working on Shadertoy-like shaders using transpiled Common Lisp.
- When debugging generated C++ or GLSL files or updating the core emitter in c.lisp.
Language Architecture
The transpiler takes Lisp S-Expressions representing a C++ AST and compiles them into C++ code strings.
The package name is :cl-cpp-generator2.
The primary public entrypoints are:
emit-c: Emits C++ code from a Lisp form.write-source: Transpiles code and writes the result to a C++ file (by default formatting it with clang-format).write-notebook: Writes the code to a Jupyter Notebook .ipynb file using xeus-cling.
The transpiler uses an :invert readtable-case, meaning that lower-case code is preserved and maps naturally to C/C++ identifiers.
[!IMPORTANT]
Symbol Package Matching Alert:
The transpiler dispatcher uses exact symbol equality (eq) to match DSL keywords (like curly, paren*, defun, etc.).
- Make sure the DSL symbols are either exported by
:cl-cpp-generator2 or package-qualified when writing generator files.
- Unexported/incorrectly qualified symbols read in another package will fail to match the emitter dispatcher and default to a C++ function call representation (e.g.,
symbol_name()).
DSL Reference & Mapping Guide
Below is a complete reference of the Lisp forms supported by the transpiler and their generated C++ syntax.
1. Variables & Assignments
- Direct assignment:
(= a b) → a = b
- Multiple assignments:
(setf a 1 b 2) → a = 1;\nb = 2;
- Increment / Decrement:
(incf a 2) → a += 2(decf a 3) → a -= 3
- Compound Assignments:
(*= a 2) → a *= 2(/= a 3) → a /= 3(^= a 4) → a ^= 4
2. Variable Declarations (let, letc, letd)
3. Basic Operators
All operators wrap their operands in parentheses to preserve operator precedence.
- Arithmetic:
(+ a b) → ((a) + (b))(- a b) → ((a) - (b))(* a b c) → ((a) * (b) * (c))(/ a b) → ((a) / (b))(% a b) → ((a) % (b)) (modulo)
- Bitwise:
(& a b) or (logand a b) → ((a) & (b))(logior a b) → ((a) | (b))(<< a b) → ((a) << (b))(>> a b) → ((a) >> (b))(^ a b) or (xor a b) → ((a) ^ (b))
- Comparison:
(== a b) → ((a) == (b))(!= a b) → ((a) != (b))(< a b) → ((a) < (b))(<= a b) → ((a) <= (b))(> a b) → ((a) > (b))(>= a b) → ((a) >= (b))
- Logical:
(and a b) → ((a) && (b))(or a b) → ((a) || (b))(not a) → (!(a))
4. Brackets & Accessors
- Paren / Parentheses:
(paren a b) → (a, b)
- Angle Brackets:
(angle a b) → <a, b>
- Square Brackets:
(bracket a b) → [a, b]
- Curly Braces:
(curly a b) → {a, b}
- Designated Initializer:
(designated-initializer x 1 y 2) → {.x = 1, .y = 2}
- Array Access:
(aref arr idx) → arr[idx]
- Member Access:
- Dot member:
(dot obj attr) → obj.attr
- Pointer arrow:
(-> ptr attr) → ptr->attr
- Scope resolution (
::): (scope std string) → std::string
5. Control Flow
- If/Else / When / Unless:
(if condition true-stmt false-stmt) → if (condition) {\ntrue-stmt\n} else {\nfalse-stmt\n}(when condition body*) → if (condition) {\nbody*\n}
- Cond (multi-branch conditional):
Compiles to chained
if ... else if ... else.
- Loops:
for: (for (init cond step) body*) → for (init; cond; step) {\nbody*\n}while: (while cond body*) → while (cond) {\nbody*\n}dotimes: (dotimes (i 100) body*) → C++ loop from 0 to 99.
- Return & Coroutines:
(return expr) → return expr;(co_return expr) → co_return expr;(co_await expr) → co_await expr;(co_yield expr) → co_yield expr;
6. Functions & Classes
-
Function Definitions (defun, defun*, defun+):
defun uses the dynamic header-only setting of the compiler (e.g. for generating headers vs source implementations).defun* generates a header declaration (declaration only).defun+ generates a full function implementation.
(defun foo (x y)
(declare (type int x)
(type float y)
(values float)
inline)
(return (+ x y)))
Emits:
inline float foo(int x, float y) {
return ((x) + (y));
}
Declarations supported inside the declare form:
(type <type> <vars>) to declare variable types.(values <type>) to declare function return type.inline, const, static, explicit, virtual, noexcept, final, override, pure to apply those C++ specifiers/qualifiers.(template <args>) to define a template function.
-
Classes / Structs:
defclass: (defclass ClassName (ParentClass) body*) → class declaration.struct: (struct StructName body*) → struct declaration.
7. Preprocessor Directives
- Include:
(include<> stdio.h) → #include <stdio.h>(include "my_header.h") → #include "my_header.h"
- Pragma:
(pragma once) → #pragma once
Compile-Time Code Generation & Templating
Since cl-cpp-generator2 transpiles Lisp S-Expressions at compile time, you can leverage standard Common Lisp list processing and macro/loop constructs (like loop, backquote, and comma evaluation) to dynamically emit complex shader paths, coordinate mapping tables, or mathematical variations.
For example, when writing shaders, we can unroll loops or generate multiple SDF-distance functions dynamically.
