Why the Ardent compiler?

Welcome to my blog! I’m excited to share the vision behind Ardent, a new programming language and compiler I’m developing. Creating a new language is no small task, but I believe Ardent addresses a unique need in today’s programming landscape. Today, I’ll explain why I started this project and what I hope to achieve with Ardent.

My journey began back in 2009 when I received a shiny new Nokia N900. The N900 had 256MB of RAM, and I expected it to be fast and responsive. However, I was disappointed. Almost everything I tried to do on the phone resulted in excessive swapping and sluggish performance. This puzzled me, especially because, about ten years earlier, I had worked with servers equipped with the same amount of memory, serving hundreds of users at the university where I worked.

Curious about the cause of this slowness and bloat, I embarked on a journey to uncover what was happening under the hood of the N900.

I won’t reveal all my findings just yet—I’ll be sharing those insights in future blog posts. However, my research and conclusions ultimately led me to create Ardent.

After years of waiting for a language and compiler that could address the inefficiencies I identified, I decided to roll up my sleeves and build Ardent myself.

In a nutshell, Ardent is designed from the ground up to produce lean and fast binaries. The language itself emphasizes simplicity and readability, making it a powerful tool for programmers who value efficiency and clarity.