Standard Library

The standard library is a set of modules that reach things the language itself does not describe: files, the clock, the environment, the terminal. Unlike the built-in type methods (.upper(), .push()), which are always available, these functions have to be imported by name.

How importing works

Each module is imported by name, without quotes:

import { readFile, writeFile } from fs;
import { sqrt, abs } from math;

A quoted name is a file path; an unquoted name is a standard library module:

import { greet } from "./helpers.sqt";   // another file
import { readFile } from fs;             // stdlib module

You can rename on import with as, which is how you resolve a collision between two modules that export the same name:

import { readFile as loadConfig } from fs;

There is no wildcard import: every name you use has to be listed. import * from fs; is a syntax error. Naming each import keeps the reader able to tell, from the top of the file, exactly which outside functions the program can reach.

Module index

Module	Import from	What it covers
File system	fs	Read, write, copy, list files and directories
Path	path	Build and split path strings, no disk access
UTF-8	utf8	Convert between byte[] and string
System	sys	Random numbers, environment, arguments, sleep
Process	process	Exit code, working directory, process id
Standard input	stdin	Read from standard input
Standard output	stdout	Write to standard output
Standard error	stderr	Write to standard error
Math	math	Absolute value, min/max, roots, powers, rounding
Date	date	UTC timestamps, calendar fields, formatting
Operating system	os	Platform name, architecture, host name, CPU count
Terminal	terminal	Whether output is going to a real terminal
Core	core	Compiler version

Every module in this table is available now. There is no network module: net is planned but not shipped, and importing it is an error.

Determinism

Most of these functions are pure calculations on the values you pass in: the same input gives the same result on every run. A few read state from outside the program and therefore cannot promise that:

Function	Why it varies
sys::random, sys::randomInt	Operating system randomness
sys::env, sys::args	Depends on how the program was started
date::now	Reads the system clock
fs::*	The file system changes underneath the program
stdin::*	Depends on what is piped in
os::*, terminal::isTTY	Depends on the machine and how it was run

Everything else, including all of math, path, utf8, and every date function except now(), computes only from its arguments.

Not part of the standard library

The built-in type methods (.upper(), .push(), .length()) are not imported. They are called with dot notation on a value and are always available. See Built-in Functions (UFCS).