Build from Source

Instructions for building MathScript from source code.

Prerequisites

• .NET SDK 9.0 or later
• Git
• A C# compatible IDE (Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, or JetBrains Rider) or any code editor with command line tools

Cloning the Repository

Clone the MathScript repository:

git clone https://github.com/MathScript-Lang/MathScript
cd MathScript

Building

With the dotnet CLI

Navigate to the project's folder and build:

dotnet build

You may need to build twice for your first build to generate and use BuildInfo.cs.

To create a release build:

dotnet build -c Release

With Visual Studio

1. Open Visual Studio
2. Select "Open a project or solution"
3. Navigate to and open MathScript.slnx
4. Build the solution with Ctrl + Shift + B or via Build > Build Solution

With Visual Studio Code

1. Open the MathScript folder in Visual Studio Code
2. Install the C# extensions if not already installed
3. Run the build task:
   • Press Ctrl + Shift + B
   • Or use the terminal:

     dotnet build
     

Running

After building, you can run MathScript in two ways:

Interactive REPL Mode

Run without arguments to start an interactive shell:

dotnet run

Type your MathScript code and press Enter to execute it. Type exit or press Ctrl + C to quit.

Execute or Compile a Program

Execute a .mscr file directly:

dotnet run -- hello.mscr

Compile a .mscr file to an executable:

dotnet run -- -o output hello.mscr

And generally:

dotnet run -- [arguments]

You can also use the built executable directly from the build output directory:

./bin/Debug/net9.0/mathscript hello.mscr
./bin/Debug/net9.0/mathscript -o output hello.mscr

For release builds:

./bin/Release/net9.0/mathscript hello.mscr

Troubleshooting

Build fails with missing dependencies

• Ensure .NET SDK 9.0+ is installed:

  dotnet --version
  

• Restore NuGet packages:

  dotnet restore
  

BuildInfo.cs not found on first build

• This is a known issue with the build system checking for the BuildInfo class before the file generation task runs.
• Simply build again and it will succeed, as the file will already exist.